What we do know...

Is that I'm an idiot. I don't know how I didn't allow comments on the last post, but there you have it. I did it! Now that I know Max is at least looking at Emily I will have to pass the word on and let her know. Maybe by some miracle she will stay still long enough without several doggie bribes so I can take her picture. Max is so much more cooperative.

I'm having a wonderful time in the South. We were in Savannah yesterday. It was an absolutely beautiful picture perfect day. We had lunch at the Savannah Tea Room which was great. Just loved it. You feel so close to our country's history in this part of the country.

St. Simon's Island was awesome. The ocean was so warm and the sand so finely grained. I don't remember that from Florida and certainly not the case for the good old Pacific Ocean.

I've still managed to read a couple of books this week between travel times and the beach. Still exhausted and still having fun. I'll try to post a couple of pictures when I get home. As enjoyable as the trip has been I must say I will be thrilled to sleep in my own bed tomorrow.

Now it's been even longer since I've been around the neighborhood. Tell me what you have been up to. I promise the comments are on this time. I'm using my sister's computer because it's so hard to type the posts on my Treo, but very easy ::winky winky:: to read your comments in my email.

Wherefore art thou Max?

So I'm thinking. Sure Emily is young, but Max is one hot dude. She definitely likes what she sees in the pictures. So Max, what do you say to a long distance thang? And yes, that is a doggy treat we had to bribe her with to stay in the picture frame.

Obviously I took these before leaving home and since I didn't want to bore you with play by play of my trip this is what you get. I'm really enjoying Georgia. It's been absolutely beautiful and so green and lush which is quite a different from the high desert area of Southern California that I live in. We leave for the beach tomorrow. So I probably won't post again before I get back home. I do check my emails and if you all know anything about me, you know I'm a Nosy Nora. So...any news? Or is all quiet out there in Romancelandia? What's the scoop?

Georgia On My Mind

I'm going to Georgia today to see my sister. Another one of my sister's is going too, so three of the four of us will be together for fun and mayhem. Well, that and my nevvy's high school graduation. We plan to spend a few days at the beach as well. My sister rented us a beach house. Now those are words I never thought I'd be saying, or er...writing!



I'll be checking in. Maybe I'll even post some pictures of some other people and places. Strangers having fun on the beach in Georgia, you're riveted aren't you?

The BEE Movie

If you've been in the children's section of the bookstore in recent years you know that Jerry Seinfeld wrote a book about HALLOWEEN. It's cute and entertaining for both kids and adults. I figured he has ventured into the children's realm because he is now a father of three. Maybe. Ya think?

Have you heard about The Bee Movie? I hadn't. Beanie clued me in yesterday morning by showing me this trailer.

Yeah, I can't believe it either. YouTube the third time in less than a week.

THREE LITTLE BOOKS

I was tagged by Nath this time with a book meme.

Rules: List and describe three of your favorite books that other people might not be familiar with. You are supposed to tag five people, but I'm not going to do that. If you are interested in doing this, please do!

















HUMMINGBIRD by Lavryle Spencer

This is the story of a lonely woman who was raised to be proper and do the right thing at all costs. Everything changes when there is a train wreck and an injured man is put in her care. The question is whether or not the injured man is one of the train robbers who caused the wreck or just an innocent passenger. Who is Miss Abigail's patient?

I loved this book the very first time I read it. If you've never read Ms. Spencer then you're in for a treat discovering her books. They are well written and true to the time period she writes and wonderful love stories. A couple of her books were made into TV movies. The most popular was MORNING GLORY with Christopher Reeve and Deborah Raffin. As with Nora Roberts' film adaptations the book was much better and more in depth than the movie.

At any rate, I've recommended HUMMINGBIRD any number of times. Good book.

















MILA 18 by Leon Uris

Mr. Uris' most famous books are EXODUS and TRINITY, which I've read and enjoyed, but not as much as this epic. Mila 18 is named for the ghetto the Nazis made out of one quadrant of the city of Warsaw, Poland for the Jews. It follows the story of different members of a family and how they each cope with the Nazi invasion and their response to it. The Polish Jews of Warsaw fought back and were among the first to get news and information out to the rest of the world about what was going on.

The book isn't for the faint hearted. Mr. Uris' books are well researched and historically graphic and accurate. I don't think I've ever cried as much in ANY book as I did in this one, but the story is riveting and compelling.



















REDEEMING LOVE by Francine Rivers

While looking for links for my blog I discovered this book has been rewritten from its original Bantam release in 1991. The original is the book I read and recommend. The book is about a Christian farmer who decides on first sight that he has found his true love when he sees a prostitute walking down the street in town. The problem is Angel doesn't want to be saved or married or in love. Michael visits Angel in her room as a prostitute and tries to convince her to marry him. It isn't until she's badly beaten that she reconsiders her profession.

This is one of the most beautiful love stories I've ever read and while at times it is hard to believe and see why Michael insists on loving Angel it speaks to a higher truth in all of us which is wanting to be loved flaws and all. REDEEMING LOVE is the last book Ms. Rivers wrote before turning her writing completely to inspirational. She wrote some wonderful western romances that are on my keeper shelf as well.

While REDEEMING LOVE and HUMMINGBIRD are certainly love stories, if you are a reader that likes your love stories spicy these probably aren't for you. They are both more traditional romances. However, I can assure you the writing and stories in these books are very well done.

There you have it. Three of my favorites that you probably didn't know about. What are yours?

EQUALITY NOW

HAVE YOU JOINED YET?

IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT.

IF NOT NOW WHEN?

EQUALITY NOW.

Take a Look

Today's post at WEB PETALS is one of the reasons I listed it as a blog that makes me think. Take a look. Here's the link to the original post on Joss Whedon's site too.

Inch by inch...

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Does a mild mannered librarian and romance junkie by day who is a kickass super hero by by night wear a cape? Inquiring minds want to know.

The totally cool Super Librarian Wendy took pity on my sad tale of having no decent UBS any more and told me about a great store in our area. We were able to meet today and not only did I score some awesome books (Cheryl St. John and Terri Brisbin!) we were able to have lunch together. It was great to meet Wendy and be able to talk, in person, about books and book stores and the blogs we have in common.

Now I'm hoping we can all convince her to go to Dallas so we can get the scoop from four different POVs and voices. While they each love romance Sybil, Jane, Kristie and Wendy all have their own inimitable voices. Frankly, I can't wait to hear, see and read their tales.

Thanks Wendy, it was fun AND I found a good UBS once again. As for the cape...I'll never tell.

ON THE MOVE

Do you think about hunger, poverty, AIDS? Do you think about justice and equality for everyone? Our world is becoming a smaller place every day. If you have the time, listen to Bono's speech at a prayer breakfast in Washington last year. I warn you, it's long -- almost 20 minutes. If you only have a few minutes listen for a moment starting at the 8 min 40 second mark. He's so articulate and accessible.

As you know by now I get updates from The ONE campaign. Yesterday the email was letting me know that a book, ON THE MOVE, that encompasses the highlights from Bono's speech is available. You can find the book to purchase here. You can take a look at the virtual book here.

Beastie Boys & Hot Weather

I've always liked this song. The video is a bit dated, but fun. Anyway, I had to go to the DMV this morning. Yes, that's right the beloved Department of Motor Vehicles. Since Beanie had recently been in my car his radio station was on. Before I knew it I was grinning and bobbing my head driving down the street. Put me in the right mood for DMV. I was on a sunshine and par-tay high. Believe it or not with my early morning appointment I was in and out of there in...are you ready...10 MINUTES!! That's never happened before. Play the song. Maybe it will bring you some good karma.

Thinking Blogger

Wendy, bless her, tagged me with the thinking blogger award. I'm honored especially since many days I proof read my posts to find incomplete sentences and words with the last letter missing. Oh, I'm thinking alright, just not about what I'm doing. Always with the multi-tasking am I. You think I'd get a clue.

Anyway this is all part of an experiment. At least I think that's what it is. Go read this original post and you can decide exactly what's going on. My job is to pass on the rules to the blogs I am tagging.


The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote. (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).


Here are my five:

1. Web Petals - Author Marjorie Liu's blog. Lots of info about writing and pictures of her dogs too!


2. Post Secret

3. Diary of an adult runaway - Gabrielle Luthy's blog. An Aussie writing in Paris.


4. Samantha Winston - Sam is the busiest and most interesting woman whose life I spy on through her blog.

5. The Sandbox - This is a blog started by Garry Trudeau of Doonesbury fame. I've mentioned it before. It's a place where the military and their families can post. I don't read it daily any more because it can be depressing. But it's about real people and makes the war(s) real.

I haven't a clue if any of the sites I've named will respond because, damn those nuns, I'm trying to comply with the original post about blogs that make me think, so there you have it. Which by the way, if Wendy hadn't already been nominated, she'd be on my list. So would KarenS and Dear Author, already tapped of course. Love, love, love all around out here in Romancelandia.

Where have you been Joe DiMaggio?

I have really been out of the loop since last Friday. My sister was here from Georgia, I had some advanced testing for a job I'm interviewing for and then, of course, Sunday was Mother's Day. Which I have to say doesn't quite seem the same to me since my Mom died, but that's a conversation for another day.

I have done some reading. As I mentioned before my reading has slowed way down. It's more about the great weather and being busy than a reading funk...at least that's what I think today.

I received the two of the books I won over at BOOK BINGE in the mail. Getting a box of books delivered to your front door is just sublime, isn't it? Anyway, I received the first Linda Lael Miller McKettrick book, HIGH COUNTRY BRIDE and the Karen Rose book COUNT TO TEN.

What I've read this past week:

HIGH COUNTRY BRIDE by Linda Lael Miller
This book isn't badly written, but the pacing is slow and I found the H/H too reminescent of the melodrama of junior high school. Would a young woman raised in a brothel not know whether or not she's had sex? If she's sheltered would she get up one day and go sign up to be a mail order bride? Rafe McKettrick supposedly decides to send for a mail order bride in response to his father's announcement that he will give the family ranch to the son who marries first. The characters seemed too far fetched for me to really enjoy this.

BLED DRY by Erin McCarthy
Interestingly enough I don't really like the humorous sort of paranormal. The paranormal books I enjoy most are dark. In fact the darker the better. Which begs the question why I'm reading a book about the headquarters for the Vampire Nation being in Las Vegas and elections of the new vamp president. The story of the election has been drawn out over three books now which was about two books too long. Of the three books BIT THE JACKPOT, HIGH STAKES and BLED DRY, HIGH STAKES is the best of the three. These are lightweight fare and there is nothing new here. Oh, except for the discovery that vampirism is a virus and in BLED DRY a French vampire Corbin Atelier is working on the vaccine to cure the virus. While I've enjoyed a couple of Ms. McCarthy's books. This series really didn't work for me.

FOREVER YOURS by Janmarie Anello
I bought this book because it was a regency and it was priced at $3.99. I figured it was worth the minimal risk to try out a new author. Ms. Anello is a very capable writer. While this book doesn't break any new ground it has some nice moments in it. The back blurb is misleading as the "secret" Sophie Treneham is guarding is not so secret and Jagger Remington does not come across as a man living solely for vengence. These are two lonely and wounded people who are trying to make a life for themselves and make sense of their pasts.

WILD, WICKED, & WANTON by Jaci Burton
I mentioned this book before. It's a fun, hot, squirmy read. Three friends make a bet to jump start their dormant sex lives. Two friends will pick the guy for the third friend to do the mattress mambo. So three friends, three stories. Since I'd read the review at Dear Author I knew what to expect and if you read the book on that level it works.

8 Random Facts About Me

Tagged by Anne

Da Rulez:
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. I obsess over things. Not just like worry obsess either. When I was doing the Heritage Scrapbooks for Christmas last year I didn't read, I didn't blog, I didn't watch TV. I even lost weight. I couldn't think about anything else until they were done. Once the gifts were finished I was no longer interested in the project. I wanted to do a book for each of my sons. I have a book started for each of them and in five months since I finished the others I'm only half way through them.

2. I'm a foul mouth felon. However it seems to come and go like a virus. I go through long periods where nary a cuss word crosses my lips and then I kind of go on a binge of bad words. Said binge can last MONTHS.

3. Cuss words aside, I still think there is a place for kindness, consideration, manners and discretion.

4. I'm one of the people who is puzzled by people who are puzzled by virgins. I know I'm "older", and I've only had three lovers. I was a virgin until I was almost 23. I don't consider myself a prude, I went out, I dated, I partied, I was discriminating in who I wanted to share spit and other bodily fluids with. So, is it that weird for a woman to be a virgin at 23 or 25 or 30? Does it mean there's something wrong with her? I just never thought so. My sort of sticking point, no pun intended, was age 30-35. I figured by then one would have to try it just to get the curiousity factor out of the way.

5. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love my husband, but it amazes me every day how much I LIKE him and still enjoy having a conversation with him.

6. I've mentioned before that I make lists. I like lists. Lists are my friends. Even so before I started blogging I never kept track of the books I read. I have no record of literally of hundreds of books except my memory which seems to grow dimmer and kinder each year that goes by.

7. Favorite saying, "Inch by inch life's a cinch, yard by yard life is hard." My children have heard this hundreds of times. Imagine my surprise when I googled this so I could appropriately give credit for it and I found that the quote is actually, "Life is hard by the yard, but inch by inch, it's a cinch." The originator of the quote is unknown.

8. I sometimes wonder what happened to my professinal ambition. I know I used to have some, but in the last couple of years it seems to have taken a hike. I don't really know if it is a natural process of gaining perspective as I grow older or if the loss of close family members helped me to shift gears, but I really don't feel like I have to prove anything or make a certain amount of money any more. Mostly it's a relief, but I don't remember a crystalized moment it left. I just woke up one morning and realized it was gone.

I think just about everyone in our neck of the woods has done this. If you haven't...knock yourself out.

Catalina Island on Fire

Flames frame a seaside section of Avalon as the blaze continues toward homes and businesses.
(Kevork Djansezian / AP)







Everyone who lives in California knows about fire. We have had some devastating fires in the last several years. Virtually no part of this state escapes the deadly flames. A couple of years ago a fire wiped out close to 400 homes not far from where I live. The infamous Santa Ana winds whipping down our canyons and arroyos creating wind tunnels of deadly fire often make it virtually impossible to control and put out.

Early this year two teeage boys were playing around and almost burned down the (in)famous HOLLYWOOD sign when they set a fire that burned several acres of brush nearby. Most recently the LA Times has been full of pictures of fires in and around LA. One of our other iconic landmarks the Griffiths Park Observatory was under seige. Now Catalina Island, probably known best as the place Natalie Wood spent her evening before her accidental death by drowning, is on fire. Isolated and small Catalina is very difficult to defend. Which seems sort of odd since it is surrounded by water. Everyone who lives there has been evacuated. Everyone who lives there is dependent on tourism to survive. I've visited Catalina a couple of times and enjoyed my time there. I just pray this fire doesn't devastate this special and unusual place. The link on the photo credit will take you to the other pictures from the LA Times.

For the most part everyone has been holding their collective breath about fire season. We haven't had much rain and it's been warmer than usual for this time of year. The heart of fire season is August, September and October. Looks like it's going to be a long hot summer.

Interviewing, Testing and Guests...OH MY!

Been busy interviewing and testing. Sheesh! Since the last time I went through this process I can't believe all the testing employers require these days. So far so good. My testing has been good enough to move on, but what a pain!

So with the job search on and Beanie having mono and Shmoo having problems with his eye from the accident, well I've been dang busy the last week or so.

On Friday my sister that lives in Georgia will be in town. She is out here on business and is making a quick overnight visit before she has to return home in time for Mother's Day.

Speaking of which, isn't it a bad sign when your husband reminds you that Mother's Day is on Sunday and wonders aloud if you want to do anything special? Or, your 20 year old son asks you the Wednesday before Mother's Day if there's anything you want him to buy you. Guess they'd be surprised if I said a vacation away from them. Which I'm going on the end of May. A week away to visit aforementioned sister from Georgia.

See, it all comes full circle. However in the end it means I'm not out here snooping at all your blog sites and my reading has slowed to a crawl.

On deck right now I'm reading Jaci Burton's WILD, WICKED & WANTON. It's dessert. A very rich, decadent, dessert. I have to agree with Jane's review that this would be a great beach read provided you don't squirm yourself right out of your swim suit. Yeah, seriously, that hot.

Giving Away Books

Since my local UBS has closed I'm thinking of giving away books as opposed to trying to find a place to drag them to trade. At least until I find a decent new UBS that doesn't involve travel that would equal a trek down the Oregon Trail. Like how I got that western reference in there?

So, right now I have eight books to give away. All but the Cheryl St John were purchased new by me and have been gently used and are in good to excellent condition. The St. John was purchased used and is in good condition.

If you want one of these, leave a comment telling me which book you'd like. First come, first serve and all that. Since I have no clue about postage rates to Canada or outside the U.S. I will only be able to afford to ship to people in the U.S.


The books available:
THE LAWMAN'S BRIDE by Cheryl St. John

ONE REAL COWBOY by Janette Kenny

BE STILL MY VAMPIRE HEART by Kerrelyn Sparks

CHOSEN PREY by Cheyenne McCray

IN THE THRILL OF THE NIGHT by Candice Hern

TOUGH ENOUGH by Michele Albert

THE SECRET PASSION OF SIMON BLACKWELL by Samantha James

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED by Lucy Monroe

Book Flogging or how I was introduced to KateR

You've seen them all around the blogosphere those clever snappy one liners in the comments of some of your favorite blog sites. One of the contributors of those clever lines and witty observations is Kate Rothwell or as you see her in the comments, KateR.

I want to say right off that I could have very easily just paraphrased or cut and pasted parts of Kate's first post about her book flogging, or even linked to it, but I decided to have it here in all it's glory for you to read. That Kate she's funny. God knows a smile, a chuckle and a laugh are worth their weight in gold and for that reason alone I would pimp her contest since, well, (sorry Kate) I haven't read any of her books before. So why not check it out? Oh and while you are at it, read her post about BRANDING and LUCK in publishing. Food for thought. You can go read her newer "official" post about the contest here.



Have I got a Deal for You

So now I'm sort of stymied about how to Flog my Books.
How about you help me?

I'll send you any one of my books. Even the out-of-print one by Kate (Somebody Wonderful)--You then write a review and put it in your blog or somewhere online. You hate the book, well, I'll survive. And you'll be put in a pool to win a gift certificate ($30) at Barnes and Noble or Amazon (updated to add Amazon because I'm thinking I might put this in my blog there. Heh) or Samhain, your choice.

The only book not included in this offer is Taming Him.

If you put this offer on someone's site or your own, show me and I'll put you in a drawing for everyone's favorite, a THIRTY DOLLARS! gift certificate for Barnes and Noble, Amazon, OR Samhain, your choice.

That's not so complex, right?

Here's the deal (repetition is good)

1. Get a free book by Kate and or Summer and write and post something about it ("I loved/hated this book by Kate and/or Summer. You should/shouldn't buy it and read it because_____. Don't ask me to send my copy because this one happens to be an ebook and we don't share our ebooks.") be put in a drawing pool for a THIRTY DOLLAR GIFT CERTICATE.

AND/OR

2. Post this offer on your site or maybe on another site (as long as it's not spammish because I don't want to get in trouble. This is not a chain letter.) Send me a link to your post and be put into yet another drawing pool for another THIRTY DOLLAR GIFT CERTIFICATE.

Do both and be put in both pools.

There. That's sixty dollars I was going to spend elsewhere.

UPDATED: Forgot the end date. Contest ends be JUNE 19. That's the day Revealing Skills comes out in print. Updates will be added as I realize mistakes were made.

UPDATE TWO:
Here're the books you can review
by Kate Rothwell (both are print books)

Somebody Wonderful
Somebody to Love

by Summer Devon-- only ebooks, although I do have one meh paper copy of Learning Charity. Revealing Skills will be out in print--but the day the book is released is the day the contest ends so...um, no, only ebooks unless you pick up a copy of Taming Him or, maybe, if you beg me prettily, I'll send you Taming Him. But you must be eloquent.

at Ellora's Cave:
Perfection
Futurelove
Invisible Touch

at Samhain:
Learning Charity
Revealing Skills

...now why did I think I had more Summer books out? This is interesting. Am I missing something? Grey cells. Just yesterday I swore to someone I had seven Summer books. A dragon one just got accepted at Samhain.

NIGHT LOST by Lynn Viehl

NIGHT LOST by Lynn Viehl





















This is the fourth installment of the Darkyn. The Darkyn are a sort of vampire although they all eschew the use of the tag 'vampire' in the books. There are similar elements to vampires such as the ingestion of blood and day sleep. However the Darkyn also have individual gifts. These gifts can vary from being able to read the mind of a killer (note -- not every person's mind, only killers), to compelling the actions of others with voice alone. Silver is not the Darkyn's kryptonite, but copper is. Also, as a part of their ability to attract humans to them for their necessary blood donation, each Darkyn has a distinct fragrance like roses, or lavendar, or honeysuckle. When they feel a strong emotion they are likely to permeate the air with their fragrance.

I have to say I enjoyed this installment of the series every bit as much as the first one. There is nothing tired or re-done here. Somehow Ms. Viehl has been able in each of these four books to tie together the necessary elements of the Darkyn world while creating unique and individual couples in each one.

This book is not only about the central characters Gabriel Seran and Nicola Jefferson, but it also continues the story of the struggle of the Darkyn to survive undetected in a modern technological world while being relentlessly hunted by a secret sect of the Catholic church called the Brethren. The Brethern's sole purpose for existence is to ferret out the Darkyn and remove them from the face of the earth. All in the name of good and God of course.

While you can read this book as a stand alone. It would serve you well to have read the first one IF ANGELS BURN not only because there are recurring characters but it will make the reading of NIGHT LOST a more fulfilling and robust experience.

The next installment, EVERMORE is due out in January 2008. This is one series I'm no where near tired of and anxious to see continue. You can take a look at what Tara Marie had to say about NIGHT LOST here.

Ms. Viehl writes romantic suspense as Jessica Hall such books as THE DEEPEST EDGE and INTO THE FIRE. She is also writes the sci-fi STAR DOC series as S.L. Viehl. Her blog PAPERBACK WRITER is a great place for aspiring writers with lots of information of where to find stuff like research material, free software downloads, and contests and places to submit work. PBW is also the place to catch the latest news on all the different genres, books, excerpts and release dates.

Well...I didn't HATE it, but

I didn't exactly love it either. It just lacked the intensity of the first two. So the first of the three big movies with third installments is out SPIDERMAN 3. PIRATES 3 and SHREK 3 being the other two. This one was just not what I was hoping for. Shmoo said the trailer was almost better than the movie. (see below) I wouldn't go that far, but maybe... Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think?

We saw the latest trailer for BOURNE ULTIMATUM. Now that certainly looks good, along with the new HARRY POTTER those are two movies I'm anxious to see.

THE RED ENVELOPE PLEASE...

My sister contacted me the other day. Her son is graduating from high school May 25th. In her neck of the woods they have a tradition of having family members write notes, cards, and letters to the graduate that are put in a RED ENVELOPE for the graduate to read and have as a keepsake of his graduation.

In the process of writing to him I was desperately looking up all sorts of stuff to help inspire me. I ran across this quote and thought it was worth sharing. It really struck a chord with me because I was raised Catholic and it is pounded into us to be humble...not great. But as I've gotten older I think that we are supposed to celebrate our gifts and blessings. So turn up the music and read what Marianne Williamson says about celebrating ourselves.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. ~Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles," 1992 (commonly misattributed to Nelson Mandela, 1994 inauguration speech)

Friends of the High Line

With all the wild stuff going on in Romancelandia these last couple of days I decided to post on something completely on another topic.

Picture taken from FRIENDS OF THE HIGH LINE website. All images courtesy of Joel Sternfeld. © Joel Sternfeld 2000

So I'm on The Good, The Bad, the Unread and chuckling over the Penis Song with Edward Norton and Brad Pitt the other day when Shmoo comes in because nothing invites a 17 year old's curiousity like his Mom listening to a song with the word penis in it.

Anyway, since I'm not dead yet, I take a click over to YouTube because Shmoo knows that song was not in the movie FIGHT CLUB which is confirmed when we read at YT that it's a song Norton and Pitt sang on the set. Shmoo adores the movie FIGHT CLUB and while I'm both a Pitt and Norton fan I haven't seen the movie all the way through, much to Shmoo's disgust. I've seen some bits here and there but, I'm not fond of violence, so I don't stay and watch the whole movie. The men in my life have assured me over and over again I'm missing out.

Shmoo leaves me alone on YouTube because I'm completely getting into all the clips they have on Edward Norton. I think this guy is beyond good looking because he's smart and clever and sweet, and smart, and... You get my drift I like Edward Norton. One of the clips was from an interview Mr. Norton did with Charlie Rose about the Friends of the High Line a movement in NYC to convert an old elevated train track that was closed in 1980 into a park in New York. You can see in the photo above that Mother Nature has already begun reclaiming the tracks for her own. The track is a mile and a half long and goes through two or three major neighborhoods of Manhattan. Like Mr. Norton I found the history of the High Line and the idea to make this space something green and wonderful for the City of New York completely fascinating.

I thought some of you might too. They broke ground on the project in 2006 and will be finished in 2008. One of the places I didn't get to go in NYC was Central Park. I'm going back someday. Hopefully in 2008 after the High Line is finished and I can walk it and tell you all about it.

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date...

Busy interviewing and with life. I took a brief moment yesterday to stop and shop for some books. The new haul:

1. WILD THING an anthology with Maggie Shayne, Meljean Brook, Marjorie Liu and Alyssa Day

2. NIGHT LOST by Lynn Viehl which is the 4th Darkyn book

3. I'M WATCHING YOU by Karen Rose This is a new to me writer because I usually like authors that both Tara Marie and Wendy like. This isn't a book that either of them mentioned, but it was one of two titles available at my B&N so I'm giving her a try.

4. CASTLE OF THE WOLF - Sandra Schwab This is totally Sybil, Sybil, Sybil. Another new to be author brought to my attention by Sybil and whose story premise intrigued me.

5. THE DEMON YOU KNOW - Christine Warren I've read some of her stuff from EC in the past and am interested to see how she does with a single title. I read the prologue in the store and figured what the heck.

6. BLED DRY - Erin McCarthy I've mostly enjoyed her books as entertaining romantic comedy. I've been sort of hit or miss with these vamp books, but this was the next installment. I'm crazy because these are expensive trade sized books, but there it was in my hands... I'm weak!

Right now I'm finishing up SATISFACTION GUARANTEED by Lucy Monroe. This book has been a change of pace from the more intense and involved books I've been reading. Not a bad book, but nothing new either. I guess Megan Hart and Meljean Brook have spoiled me...huh?

No links today. I've got alot of regular household stuff to do before a call back interview. Try to stay out of trouble out there, okay?

BROKEN by Megan Hart

Broken by Megan Hart

I hadn't really planned to review another book so soon. Why? No reason. I just generally don't. I guess because of the work involved. It's way easier to just sit down and write whatever strikes me. Lazy? Yes. But true too. So here I am.

Of course, I have good reason for this review, as I said in my review of DIRTY, also by Ms. Hart, I was curious to read her next book BROKEN (excerpt). As soon as I saw it in my local Barnes & Noble I bought it. I was really looking forward to reading a new and different story from Ms. Hart and wondered how I was going to react to it after my strong personal reaction to DIRTY.

BROKEN is the story about Sadie, a psychologist who meets Joe for lunch on the first Friday of each month. When the book starts these lunches have been going on for two years. Each month Joe tells Sadie a story of an encounter he had during the month. A sexual encounter. Each month Sadie puts herself in the shoes of the woman Joe tells her about. Since we know from almost the beginning of the book that Sadie is married I was intrigued where this story would lead, but also wondering how I was going to feel about infidelity assuming of course that this was a story about Joe and Sadie. Ms. Hart's deft weaving of the circumstances of the lives of both of these people go a long way to soothing those concerns, at least she did for me. As for the infidelity, I guess it would depend on how you personally define cheating.

The things I really liked about this book are the details woven in. Feelings Sadie has about herself, her job, her other relationships. I love when books focus on the main couple, I really do, and I don't usually like too much distraction from the main story. But I also really like knowing that the couple isn't an island and there are outside influences, people and distractions in their lives.

I think Ms. Hart dealt with the circumstances of Sadie's life in an honest and realistic way. In fact so much so that it was unimaginable to think about the commitment Sadie had to unexpectedly make and embrace in her marriage. However, despite the obstacles and trials in Sadie's marriage I think Ms. Hart did well letting us know the dynamics of the marriage before and after tragedy struck. I very much felt the tension and difficulty of that relationship. I also liked that it wasn't so cut and dry that one man was "better" or clearly superior to another. In real life things aren't so black and white and they certainly aren't in this book either.

Even with all these good things going for it by the middle of the book I was asking some questions and starting to wonder why a supposedly intelligent and well educated woman was letting her life drift like it was. Literally with the turn of a page Ms. Hart starting addressing some of those questions. The second half of the book just flew by. It's really wonderful how much we are able to learn about Joe just from the telling of those stories since we read them in Sadie's voice because she has put herself in the place of each of the women in the stories.

I've been enjoying tremendously the diverse rides I've had reading lately. This was another book that gave me much to think about. Not in the same personal way as DIRTY but more in the, "I want to talk about this over margaritas with my girlfriends" way. An enjoyable read, something different, and lots to talk about. Those stories at lunch...whew!