December Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

It's that time again.  And since I've read several good books this month, I'm going to share more than one review with you.

I should point out that last month I bought four of the books that were reviewed.  I've read two of them already and both of those will be reviewed here.

Okay.


Let's start with The Partner Track by Helen Wan.  Review that made me want the book can be found here.

I really liked this book.  A lot.  Ingrid Yung is a Senior Associate Attorney who is up for a partnership at the Manhattan Corporate Law firm she works for.  She works hard and feels she has earned a partnership but, like everyone else, she has to wait for the announcement comes down and hopes nothing happens to mess things up for her.

Many people think she's a shoo-in because she has a few things going for her.  For one thing she's a female. For another, she's Asian.  The firm has never appointed a minority female as a partner in Mergers & Acquisitions, where Ingrid works and the pressure is really on the partners to have diversity. With Ingrid they get a "two-fer".

What I like about Ingrid is she's every person who's fighting for position in the workforce.  She's very likeable and very relatable, even if you're not up for a partnership in a law firm.  :)  Plus, she doesn't want to be appointed based on giving the firm an appearance of diversity - she wants it based on merit, which she's earned.  She doesn't ever want that questioned either.

Ingrid is a good person and she cares about others and the author does a wonderful job of conveying that. The book was very well written - very moving.  You get a close up look at someone's vulnerability at working towards something but not knowing if you'll get the result you want - or for the reason you want it.  I highly recommend this book.

Okay, on to the next one.

The next I'm going to review is The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher.  The review that made me want to read this book can be found here.

Let me first say that I have a totally different take on the book than the review that made me by this book.  In that review the reviewer said that Olivia was really horrible to Caleb but that she (the reviewer) was still pulling for Olivia (I'm going from memory here because I won't re-read the review until I've posted mine so sorry if I'm remembering wrong here).  I didn't see it that way at all. 

Yes, Olivia did some cruel things and Caleb was impacted by them BUT they weren't so much to him as to get others out of the way because she saw them as obstacles between her and Caleb.  The one thing she did purposefully to hurt Caleb, he more than deserved.  Plus, even as she did these things she knew they were wrong and was bothered by them - just not enough to take them back or stop doing them.

The other reviewer also has said that it doesn't end like you'd expect it to which had me guessing from the beginning. And while I didn't see the ending coming, I wasn't surprised by things either.

That all said, my take on the characters was different from the other reviewer's in that I saw Olivia as very vulnerable and afraid of loving anyone.  She desperately wanted to love and be loved, which is why she did the things she did, but it also scared the crap out of her.  I think the other review had said she was yelling at the characters.  I was too, only I think what I was yelling was different.  I felt the relationship between Olivia and Caleb was toxic.  I felt like Caleb was a manipulator and abusive towards Olivia.  I was yelling at her to dump him and move on but she wasn't listening.  I had a hard time understanding why she'd want him back.

Despite all that, I did like this book and can recommend it without hesitation.  But, what I will say is that there are two other books in this series, told from the perspectives of Caleb and Leah (Caleb's girlfriend when he gets amnesia . . . oh yeah, Caleb gets amnesia and Olivia takes the opportunity to win him back, even though he's been with Leah for a few years).  This book came to a satisfying conclusion for me so I see no need to read the other two books in the series.  Leah wasn't portrayed favorably in this book and I've already mentioned how I felt about Caleb so I don't want to read their versions of this story.  Having said that, I did break down and read the first couple of paragraphs of each of the books online, in case I wasn't being fair to the characters.  And well, I only read the first couple of paragraphs because that was all I could stomach - they did nothing to change my mind on reading the sequels. 

So that's my take, a big yes on The Opportunist and a big pass on the sequels . . . but that's just me.

Next up is Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich.

No previous review to look up with this one . . . it's all me.  I love this series.  I know there are some who stopped reading the series because Stephanie goes too much between Morelli and Ranger and while I don't always like what she does in the book, I love the series. 

Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter who brings in people (skips) who didn't show up to court when her sleazy cousin Vinnie posted bond for them.  Lulu (a former "ho") helps her track down and bring in the skips.

They're both entirely unqualified for the job so it makes for some fun, light reading.  I read these books in a few hours time.  And if you're one of the people that has sworn off the books due to the Morelli/Ranger thing, they kind of address that in this book.  I mean I would've read the book anyway but I feel that maybe the author considered some of the negative feedback that was coming and addressed it - maybe not to some people's satisfaction but addressed nonetheless.  So, for me, this is another book to recommend.  :)

November Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

 

 

It's been a while since I've participated in the book club because, frankly, I haven't been reading a lot of books that I wanted to - or even felt right about - recommending.  Then a few weeks ago I picked up a book I'd ordered a while back based on another review I had read from a book club member.  The review had me ordering the book the instant after I posted a comment, it was that compelling to me.  Then, as I do some times, I didn't pick up the book for a while because I couldn't remember exactly what it was that made me want it.  After reading a series of very bad books, I figured I had nothing to lose and started reading the book I'm reviewing today.
 

 I'm reviewing The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

Ivan is a gorilla.  He lives in a mall where he is expected to bring in customers who will spend their hard earned money.  His home consists of three walls made of glass and one wall that is painted to resemble a jungle.  He's friends with Stella the elephant, who has to perform several times a day and Bob, a stray dog.  The story is told in first person narrative from the viewpoint of Ivan.

During the time that I was reading this book I got my flu shot from the medical department where I work.  We're required to wait for 20 minutes after we get our shot to ensure we don't have an adverse reaction.  I always take a book down with me to fill the time and so I had this book with me.  The nurse administering the shot asked what I was reading and asked if it was good.  I said that it was good and then compared Ivan to Eeyore from the Winnie the Pooh series.  They're both loveable characters but I think the difference is that Eeyore expects bad things to happen to him.  He takes the bad things in stride but they're still expected.  Ivan, on the other hand, is just reporting events.  He doesn't complain and he doesn't whine, it's just how things are.

He's also very loyal to his friends.  Where he accepts his lot in life, he takes actions to make things right or better for his friends.

I fell in love with Ivan.  I laughed and cried while reading this book.  I wanted to help Ivan and make things better for him.  The details were that well told by the author.  At the beginning of the book there are some definitions of things you will be reading.  A me-ball is "dried excrement thrown at observers".  The following passage from the book is one that I found meaningful and tugged at my heart.

Three visitors

Three visitors are here: a woman, a boy, a girl.
I strut across my domain for them.  I dangle from my tire swing.  I eat three banana peels in a row.
The boys spit at my window.  The girls throws a handful of pebbles.
Sometimes I'm glad the glass is there.

My visitors return

After the show, the spit-pebble children come back.
I display my impressive teeth. I splash in my filthy pool.  I grunt and hoot.  I eat and eat and eat some more.
The children pound their pathetic chests.  They toss more pebbles.
"Slimy chimps," I mutter.  I throw a me-ball at them.
Sometimes I wish the glass were not there.

I love kids and I know this is a work of fiction but I was upset by the kids and wished the me-ball had hit them.

Now, having said it was a work of fiction, it is inspired by a true story.  There really exists a gorilla who lived in a mall as entertainment.  I didn't know this until I finished the book and read the author's note.  Of course the events and thoughts of Ivan were created from the author's imagination but they made me care about a gorilla, two elephants and a dog named Bob.

Some may say it's cheating that I'm reviewing a book that was previously reviewed but I think it's reinforcing the original recommendation that this is a book that should be read.

 Edited to add:  After adding the link to the previous review, I went back and read it.  That review really captures the essence of the book so well.  If you haven't read it before, follow the link - it's worth the re-read.
 





June Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

It's time for more book reviews!  

 

This month I'm reviewing Easy Sexy Raw by Carol Alt.  A little over three years ago I gave up meat and dairy.  I bought several cookbooks and even started experimenting with some recipes.  Then about two years ago I heard about raw food for the first time. It was referred to as a "raw diet" by someone I knew was trying to lose some weight so I thought it was something like the Adkins diet, but with raw foods.

Raw, to me, meant completely uncooked so in my head we were talking raw fruits and vegetables. The subject came up again about six months later when my doctor prescribed (yes, prescribed!) Pringles as a means to an end for an issue I was having at the time.  This same doctor had prescribed Pringles to a friend of mine and her sister had sent her an article entitled "Pringles Causes Cancer". The article went on to talk about what raw cooking is.  Essentially it comes down to not heating anything over a certain temperature.

 

So fast forward to a couple of months ago when I went on a cookbook buying binge.  The idea of raw cooking came back up and I found myself at Barnes and Nobles checking out some raw cookbooks.  I selected several and took them to a table to see which ones might best fit my self-imposed dietary restrictions.  This book was the standout for me.

 

Since buying the book, I've also invested in a dehydrator and a mandoline. I've made several of the recipes and so far have not found one I didn't like.  Among my favorite recipes is the Vegan Bay Crab Cakes.  I wasn't sure what to expect because, truth told, I've never had crab cakes so I didn't know if I would like this recipe, assuming it tasted like real crab cakes.  Among the ingredients are zucchini, celery, bell peppers, cashews, pine nuts (for the tartar sauce), almonds and macadamia nuts (which I've discovered I love on their own!).  So it's healthy.  And so scrumptious!  But it's not a quick recipe to make.  The almonds have to soak for 8-12 hours and then, once everything is prepared, it "cooks" in the dehydrator for a total of 4 hours so it's not something that you come home from work and say "I'd like to have raw, vegan crab cakes for dinner tonight."  It takes some planning - but I promise it's worth it.  And I'm fully aware that when I heat up my leftovers in the microwave, the meal is no longer raw.

 

Another good recipe is the Avocado/Kale Salad (actual recipe name may be different).  It's something that is truly raw and can be made in 15-20 minutes.  It's not quite as appetizing to look at but it's delicious.

 

For me, those two recipes alone were worth the price of the book.  Oh, and it's not a vegan cookbook - there are recipes involving meat included as well.  I won't be trying the meat or fish recipes in the book but that doesn't mean I won't maybe substitute ingredients for those with meat.

 

And something I did to test out what I call a theory in the book is I baked some cookies using the dehydrator.  Carol states that cookies put in the dehydrator to cook taste exactly the same as their baked counterparts.  I used recipes from other cookbooks I have - recipes that are tried and proven hits.  I split the batches evenly and baked half in the oven and half in the dehydrator.  There was absolutely zero difference in the taste.  The only differences were 1) dehydrated cookies do not spread out when cooked so the size/shape you put into the dehydrator is the same size/shape you get out; and 2) length of time to cook (10 minutes in the oven vs. 13 hours in the dehydrator).  The oatmeal chocolate chip cookies did stick a little in the dehydrator (peanut butter cookies did not) but I'm going to test that some more to see if there's a fix for that.

 

This book was an interesting discovery for me and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to experiment with raw cooking.  The thing to remember though is that raw doesn't necessarily mean fast.

May Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

It's time to review another book!

This month I'm reviewing Jessica Brody's latest release Unremembered.  As Ms. Brody is an auto-buy author for me, I didn't have a lot of information about the book.  I knew someone had lost their memory and was under the impression that getting it back would be a bad thing and that bad guys were after that person.  I knew it would be good and I knew it would be well written.  Beyond that I had no pre-conceived ideas or thoughts on the book.

I started this book a few weeks ago when I didn't have a lot of time to read.  I was pulled in immediately and was frustrated that I wasn't able to do a lot of reading at the time.  Then, this past Saturday I was out taking care of some business and I took the book with me so I could read while I waited.  First stop I was only allowed 15 minutes of reading time (if that).  Second stop the guy in front of me stormed out because he'd been told it'd be about an hour and a half wait.  When they told me that I said that was fine because I had a book.  They got me out in 45 minutes.  :(

At the third stop I was told it would be 45 minutes and I was there over two hours, and I didn't care one bit.  In fact, I didn't even realize that much time had passed because I was so into the book.

The book opens with Sera waking up in the ocean amongst a bunch of dead people.  When she's retrieved she has the distinct impression that no one expected to find her - at least not alive.  She's taken to a local hospital where she's asked a lot of questions she can't answer . . . like what her name is.  She's told she's the sole survivor of a plane crash and not only does she not know why she would be on the plane, she doesn't even know what a plane is.

In an effort to help relax her, one of the nurses gives her a sedative via her IV drip.  As she's going under a boy appears in her room.  There's something familiar about him and he's trying to get her to wake up and remember him.   He tells her he's going to get her out of there and then everything goes dark as the drugs kick in.  She wakes up in the morning and thinks it was all a dream.

Zen (the boy) shows up several more times but until someone asks her "who was that boy?", she  wonders if he's real or not.  Is he someone she can trust?  Why does she feel this connection when she's around him?  Who is he to her?  These are the questions she has as she tries to remember who she is and how she got to where she is.

One of the quotes on the cover said they'd loved the twist at the end so for the entire book I kept trying to guess what the twist would be.  I can't say a lot without giving too much away but the ending wasn't what I expected . . . for a lot of reasons.  But it seemed to perfectly fit the rest of the story.

Then, after I finished the book (after I got home from all of my Saturday appointments), I read the book blurb, which included "From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new series . . . "  I hadn't known this was part of a series.  That's exciting to me because there's a lot of places this story can go and I'm glad it doesn't end here - and not just because I could still be right about the surprise twist at the end.  ;)

Ms. Brody was among the authors that generously donated their books for the auction at work benefitting the American Cancer Society.  So, if you believe in supporting those that would generously give to help others, you should buy your book.  Or, if you don't care about that but just want a good book to read, then you should buy this book.  Bottom line, I think you should buy this book.  :)

The title is  Unremembered, but I promise you, you'll remember this book.  I highly recommend it.

April Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

So, it's been a while since I've participated in The Book Review Club.  Part of that has been because even though I've read some books I really liked, there was always something that made me feel not quite able to highly recommend the book.  I could recommend it but I felt I'd want to announce a disclaimer like "I really loved the book, well, except the part where . . . " and that's not the kind of recommendation I want to give at our monthly get togethers.

That said, I will be reviewing Jennifer R Hubbard's The Secret Year.  Now, before I get into the review, I want to share how I came to be reading the book first because I think that story is also worth sharing.

The company I work for likes to have a presence in the community, supporting charities, etc.  To that end, every year there's a Relay for Life campaign where we have events to raise money for the American Cancer Society.  And every year we have an online auction.  A few years back I asked a couple of authors if they'd be willing to donate books for the auction and they did.  It went over big with bidders.  The next year I asked a few more authors to participate with success.  Several years went by where I meant to solicit authors but never got around to it.  Then one Friday night in late January, early February of this year, I just started sending emails to any author I could think of that I knew I could recommend their books to anyone bidding in the auction.  Something like 30 authors responded that they'd be happy to donate books.  Eileen Cook not only responded that she'd be happy to donate a book, she offered to hit up her author friends for books as well.  And if you're wondering how that plays into my review, well, Jennifer R Hubbard is one of Eileen's author friends that responded they'd be happy to donate a book as well.  See, I had never heard of Ms. Hubbard before then.

Ms. Hubbard sent me an email offering one of two books and she provided a synopsis of both and asked which one I'd prefer.  I told her we'd be happy with whatever she chose to send and that I'd leave the choice to her.  What I didn't say is that my interest was piqued on her synopsis of The Secret Year.  She sent the other book (Try Not To Breathe) and I went online and purchased The Secret Year.

So that's how I came to be reviewing this book.  And one last thing before I get to the review, I thought I'd mention that our gracious host, Barrie Summy, donated her entire backlist to the auction - in hardcover no less.  The auction ended Wednesday and the books were a huge success.

Now to the review.   

Colt Morrissey of the flats had been having a secret relationship with Julia Vernon of Black Mountain for a year when he got the news she'd been killed in a car accident.  No one knew of their relationship, not even his closest friends, so he was silently grieving his loss.  Until Julia's brother gave him a journal Julia had been keeping, writing letters to Colt about their relationship and her public boyfriend, Austin Chadwick.

You see Colt and Julia were from different sides of the track, so to speak.  Black Mountain was for the rich and the flats were for the poor.  In public they didn't acknowledge each other's existence but in private, they shared their thoughts and dreams.  But they didn't talk about their future so Colt never really knew what Julia thought about him.  Not for sure anyway.  So Colt was a bit hesitant to read the journal and read parts of it when he needed to feel close to Julia or felt ready to deal with whatever she may have said.

Over the course of the next few months, Colt came to terms with his relationship with Julia and its sudden end.  I felt comfortable with the characters and realized it was because I felt like I was reading a modern day version of The Outsiders by  S.E. Hinton.   Cherry had liked Ponyboy and Julia's journal was a unique way to get inside her head. 

I read this book in one sitting and really liked it.  So my recommendation is this: I could recommend it because Ms. Hubbard was so generous as to donate a book to someone she didn't know, trusting that it would be used to raise money for a good cause.  But the fact that it was a well written, good story is the reason I'm recommending this book  I don't think you'll be disappointed. 

Mission Statement

Last summer I attended a training class, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of my bosses came on board when I was sick in 2010 so her first impression of me as a worker wasn't a good one. The fact that I was sick throughout 2010 - and remained sick into the first half of 2012 (yes all of 2011 was a blur to me) did nothing to improve her opinion. Which, in a roundabout way, is why I was in the class to begin with.

So, I'm in this class - which I enjoyed by the way . . . and learned a lot - and we had all these exercises we had to do. We had these booklets and we'd do something and have to write stuff in these booklets. Well, I was reluctant to write things in the booklet because I figured since my company paid for the class that it was subject to review by my bosses, right?

Well, we came to this point where we were told we'd have to write for five minutes after we saw a video. I, in my head, kind of scoffed and thought 'yeah right'.  Then we watched the video and were told to start writing and for some reason I just went to town writing and had more stuff I wanted to say when we were told time was up. No one was more surprised than me - seriously!

I can't remember if we shared anything from what we wrote (although I'm sure if we did it was on a voluntary basis) but we were told we should go back to it later and trim it down to a nice, concise mission statement for our lives.  It was a while before I went back to it but when I did I decided my mission statement was LIVE LAUGH LOVE and I decided I wanted to live that way.

In the meantime I was having computer issues to the point that I rarely logged on from home. Gone were the days that I blog hopped everyday to stay in touch with what my friends were doing, nevermind keeping up with my own blog.

For a while I had used school as an excuse for my lack of blog posts. And then I got sick, which really was a valid excuse because I struggled with getting out of bed most days for roughly two years, so blogging was a big event in my life - seriously.

But, in my head, I would've said my mission statement was a dream, or a goal, that I needed to aspire to. Then today I had some time and was reading some of my old blogposts and realized I had been living my mission statement prior to my making excuses as to why it wasn't a reality. I mean I was posting regularly when I first started taking classes so that doesn't work as a valid excuse later - at least in my opinion. Being sick I'm going to give myself a pass on (sorry).

Plus there's the fact that I have these documented memories that I would've otherwise forgotten about. I mean there are stories about my dogs that I'd forgotten about. Funny dreams (and some kind of scary ones too) that I posted. Workplace situations that, to be honest, I needed to recall about now. In short, reading some of my old posts was like reconnecting with an old friend that I'd lost touch with and was so glad to see again. I was recalling a side of me that I'd forgotten was there and really want to get back to.

When I created this blog it was, in part, a way to inspire me write . . . not just blogposts but books. I had a lot of enthusiasm for it then but lost it somewhere along the way. I want that back.

I've been reluctant in the past to commit to regularly blogging again but I want to regain that enthusiasm. I want to live my mission statement again. And, I want to go back to documenting things so that when I'm not having my best I'd days I can look back and think (as I did today) 'I remember that and it was FUN!'

So, here's to living the dream and becoming the blogger I once was. :)

My little flight risk

This coming week is National Dog Week.  Last year I had a post during the week and I talked about my three dogs - Max, Harley and Brewsky.

About two months later I lost Brewsky.

Over the last few years my blogging has dwindled down quite a bit but I managed to get at least one post up a month.  That is until I lost Brewsky.  I think that's because I wanted to recognize him but it was hard to talk about and I didn't want it to be a sad post that would make me cry.

Okay, probably going to make me cry anyway but I want to talk about the kind of dog he was, and why I loved him so much and still miss him today.

Brewsky came into my life a few months after I'd lost a doberman I had.  Max had loved her dearly and he went into a serious depression when she died, to the point I honestly believed I was going to lose him too.

Enter Brewsky.

I was taking Max on several walks a day, trying to keep him engaged and active after we lost Cleo.  Then one day this cute little puppy followed us home.  It took more than a little encouragement to get him to come play with Max, once we reached our house, that first day.  But after that, he was content to play for as long as I would allow him to and then he'd go back home until the next time.

It got to where Max would stop and sigh if his little friend didn't come out to play.  That's when I decided to talk to his owners and talk about regular play dates for our dogs.

Turns out that they were looking to get rid of Brewsky because he was always getting loose and disappearing for days at a time.  I wasn't really looking for a new dog but Max was so in love with him that I offered to take him in.

I learned quickly that the reason he would "escape" from his former owners is because he did NOT like being locked outside.  I have a doggy door and he was perfectly content being left home if he could get in the house.  And, despite what I'd been told, he was housebroken.  But if I left him locked outside (it only took two times for me to see the issue), he'd break free somehow.  I always referred to him as my little flight risk.  :)

Anyway, Brewsky was different than any dog I've ever had in my life.  He did things I'd never seen before - or since.

Max had grown up playing tug of war with Cleo.  Brewsky didn't like to share his toys.  So Max would try to engage Brewsky to play with him and he'd get nothing.  That is until Brewsky decided to take the toy away from Max.  He did this so effortlessly.  He'd lay down under Max and take his little penis in his mouth and suck.  I'm not kidding.  Max's eyes would roll back in his head and he'd groan in pleasure and the toy would fall out of his mouth.  When that happened, Brewsky would snatch the toy up and run outside with it.  Worked every single time.

Brewsky was so independent and fearless.  We used to go visit my step-father in Arkansas (the two pictures above and one below are taken there).  He lives at the top of a mountain and the dogs would have the run of the mountain.  His neighbor has cattle on his property.  This one day I had gone for a walk with the dogs and they'd slid through the barbed-wire fence and around some brush that I couldn't see past.  I wasn't overly worried until I heard a cow moo.

All three dogs came running from the behind the brush.  Max came and hid behind me.  Harley took off up the road that leads to my step-father's house - never looking back.  But Brewsky stopped as he came around the brush, turned around and went back.

I hear Brewsky bark at the cow.  The cow mooed back.  "Woof."  "Moo."  "Woof."  "Moo." back and forth until finally Brewsky rounded the corner again, chest all puffed out.  He'd "tamed" the cow and came out the victor!  :)

Brewsky also loved to play chase.  If he got out the front door at home, he'd take off down the street.  I'd call his name and he'd stop, look remorseful and then tear out running again with a huge doggy smile on his face when I got close.  Because of this, I wouldn't let him go out with me to get the mail unless he was on a leash.  I could let Max and Harley but I didn't trust Brewsky.  Then about a month before I lost him I decided to test him and see if he'd run.  I'd just gotten off from work and the garage door was open, the house was unlocked and my purse was sitting on the passenger side seat of the car.  Oh, and I was dressed in work clothes (obviously).

He reluctantly came out with me.  I mean I literally had to force him to come out because he knew he wasn't allowed.  But once I'd convinced him, he wasted no time in running down the street.  I took off after him, as fast as my work shoes (fortunately I don't wear heels but still not the best running shoes to be chasing a dog down the street in) could carry me.  He rounded the corner, looking over his shoulder to see how far behind I was.

He crossed a street and kept going.  I crossed the street but kept thinking about the unlocked house and purse on the front seat of the car and wondered if I should go back and get the car or at least lock up the house.  He ran another block and crossed another street before I decided I had to turn back.

I looked back in time to see his body sigh in defeat and he came trotting back towards me.  Once he reached me, the chase was on again.  Only this time it was towards the house.  For seven and a half years I always thought it was about being "free" and running wild.  But for Brewsky, it was all about the chase.  The game.  And winning. 

He was my little snuggler.  But it had to be on his terms and his timing.  And almost always in the morning.  I'd wake up and stretch and he'd come curl up under my arm with his head on my chest and be so sweet.  He was the only one of my dogs to do that, and I still miss that.  It was our time and our thing.

So, my little flight risk was the first to fly the coop.  It was unexpected and devastating but I'm so very grateful for the time we had together.

And with that in mind, and National Dog Week upon us, for those of you who have four-legged furry friends, go hug them and appreciate them because you never how much time you have with them.

Brewsky (May 2003 - October 31, 2011)

September Book Review

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It's time for a new book review!

This month I'm reviewing The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March.  I heard of this book through Jessica Brody's Free Book Friday website.  It was spotlighted and a designated number were to be given out.  I registered to win but, alas, didn't.  But my interest was strong enough that I purchased a copy to read.  :)

At the heart of this story is an extended family (cousins and aunt), broken and shattered by a tragedy fifteen years ago.  As humans do, they each process and deal with the tragedy in their own way - in a way that creates distance (physical and emotional) and hard feelings between them.  They only see each other at Thanksgiving and Christmas anymore but they dread it like the plague.  So when Aunt Lolly calls a "family meeting" and expects everyone to come in for a huge announcement, alarm bells go off.

Aunt Lolly owns an inn on the coast of Maine and the belief is that her big announcement will be that she's selling the inn.  When they find out that's not the case, they all pitch in to help run the inn.  Among the tasks of running the inn is hosting a weekly movie night for guests, friends and family.  Meryl Streep is Lolly's favorite actress of all time and she has all her movies so when the movie selections are made, it's not a surprise that Meryl's movies are featured.

Each movie they watch addresses an issue that one of the family members is dealing with.  Discussions after the movies help them to reflect on their individual situations and move forward in their lives.  It's through watching movies with Meryl Streep that the family is able to heal itself and begin to work as a family unit again, as opposed to the fractures souls they'd been before.

The story itself was fairly predictable but it's the ending you want for the characters so you don't care.  In the discussions about the movies they give away major plot points and spoilers so if you've wanted to watch a particular Meryl Streep movie but haven't yet gotten around to it, you may want to watch it before you read the book (unless you're okay with knowing the ending beforehand).

I watched The Bridges of Madison County for the first time a few years ago.  My friend had warned me that I'd find myself crying unexpectedly so when I watched it I was waiting for this big thing to happen that would affect me this way.  Two hours into the movie I was still waiting and thinking my friend was nuts.  Then all of a sudden I was bawling for reasons I couldn't even say now.  Well, there's something similar to that in this book.  I was reading and all of a sudden I realized I was crying in a "Hm, my face is wet.  Ohmygosh I'm crying." kind of way.  I couldn't tell you what was going on at that point in the book or why it impacted me that way but if you had a similar experience when watching The Bridges of Madison County, well, let's just say, you've been warned.  :)

June Book Review

I almost forgot that today was book review day so please forgive the lack of links and pictures.  I'll try to add them later.

That said, the book I'm reviewing today is Nearlyweds by Beth Kendric. 

I love the premise of this book where three women with issues with their husbands discover that they're not legally married.  And how does one respond to that?  They get a do over, so will they re-marry or start over single?

Stella is young woman who married a man twice her age.  The town believes she's a gold digging trophy wife but she really loves her husband.  But on the wedding night he unceremoniously announces that he has no intentions of ever having kids with Stella, who has dreamed her whole life of being a wife and mother.  Then she has to decide if she wants to stay with a man who would deny her dream.

Erin has the mother-in-law from hell.  She reminded me of Lily Tomlin's character in 9 to 5 when she has the fantasy of being Snow White poisoning the boss with all the animated animals dancing around her.  She speaks to Erin in the syrupy-sweet tones while working to get her out of her precious son's life.  Erin has a severe allergy to peanuts and the mother-in-law can't seem to make scramble eggs without smothering them in some kind of peanut sauce.  And Erin's husband (or not-really-husband) can't seem to stand up to his mother.  When Erin realizes she can have a do-over, will she stay or start over?

And Casey.  Casey "married" Kyle by dragging him, kicking and screaming, to the altar.  He was a reluctant groom the first time so when it turns out they're not really married, can she get him back down the aisle?  And does she really want to?

I loved this book because I really had no idea where the author was going to take it and whether or not the couples would stay together or break up.  Erin and Casey had been friends before this all happened and they didn't much care for Stella because of the shared opinion of the town but once they bonded over this shared experience and came to realize that Stella wasn't what they expected.  It was a story of friendship and shared experiences.  Fast paced and fun.  I highly recommend it.  :)

February Book Review

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So, last month Barrie asked if anyone was interested in an ARC of Lisa Gardner's upcoming book (out next week, by the way) Catch Me. As a fan of her work, I said I was interested and I did get a copy.

Amazon and B&N aren't allowing reviews on it yet so I'll be starting with my "less formal" review here.

Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant - aka Charlie - is the lone survivor of her childhood friends. The other two are dead . . . murdered. One on January 21st a year ago. The other on January 21st the year before that. So, with January 21st just a few days away, Charlie believes her number is about to come up and is doing what she can to prevent it. She's spent the last year honing her skills at self defense and alerts the local police of what she believes will happen so that if she doesn't prevent the murder, at least they might be invested - having met her - and will do everything they can to solve the murders.

Detective D.D. Warren has just gone back to work after having her first child and is somewhat sleep deprived and working on a case where someone is killing known pedophiles when she meets Charlie outside of a crime scene. Charlie pleads her case with D.D. but the more D.D. digs into Charlie's past, the more she wonders whether Charlie is victim or perpetrator. And why was she outside of a crime scene? Could she be involved in these murders as well? All she knows is that January 21st is fast approaching and if she doesn't come up with some answers soon, it's not going to be pretty.

I liked this book a lot. It drew me in and I couldn't wait to find out what happened next and how it would all resolve itself. This is one of a series of books with D.D. Warren as the "lead" player in the story and even though I haven't read the other books, I didn't feel like I was coming in late to the story. Definitely a stand alone book, which is a big plus.

On the negative side though, I figured out the "who" and "why" fairly early on - and I almost never do that (oh I guess, but I'm very rarely right) so that was kind of disappointing to me because I, oddly enough, enjoy the "OMG I did NOT see that coming!" aspect of reading a "whodunit" book.

Another thing that was a little unsettling was the POV of the characters. The story was told from the point of view of three characters - D.D. (third person deep POV), Jesse (third person POV) and Charlie (first person POV). In the beginning, before I really got deep into the story, I was a little confused with the POV transitions because I tend to read deep POV the same as first person POV so I was getting confused with whose POV I was reading. Once I figured that out, it was okay but then it kind of bugged me that Charlie would be the one getting first person POV, considering she's basically a guest starring role in D.D.'s story. I just kept thinking about how it would be like reading Stephanie Plum's story with Stephanie's perspective being third person and one of her skips being told in first person. It was just a little weird to me.

Having said that, I did like the book. I would recommend it. AND, I will check out the books in the series that came before it (as well as those that come later. Overall, I would give it 4 out of 5 stars. :-)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Donuts Take Two

Since I have a donut pan, I've really wanted to make some good donuts. My first attempt was a creation of my own (by the way, when I mentioned in that post that I was listing the original recipe - I meant MY original recipe, not the "tried and true" one I had based mine on). It wasn't a total bust but definitely needed tweaking.

I wanted to make donuts today but I really wanted to use a recipe that I knew would be good - no need of tweaking. So I searched the internet.

Here's the thing about the internet, apparently I'm not a good searcher. For one thing I don't have a lot of patience because my computer is a thousand years old and slow as molasses. I like quick/good results. If I don't get that, I tend to give up easily on searches.

That said, I did go to a number of sites looking for a good vegan donut recipe - despite my slow response time on my computer. But I wasn't happy with any of the results I found, and I'll tell you why.

All the recipes required a frosting for the donuts and I don't want a frosted donut! And even if I was willing to go the extra way to make the frosted donuts, the frosting recipes are all too similar to the frosting recipe for the cinnamon buns I made a week or two ago - which was a disaster. They call for huge amounts of powdered sugar and very small amounts of liquid to mix with it. What I ended up with was a large amount of wasted (because you can't re-use it) powdered sugar and about three drops of frosting (which, for the record, was actually good). So I'm not looking to repeat that on a donut recipe.

So I decided to give the chocolate peanut butter donut recipe I was working on another shot. Here's what I used and did:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1tablespoon flaxseed
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raw sugar (meant to half this but remembered too late)
3/4 cup soy milk
1/4 - 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (didn't actually measure this)
1/4 - 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (again, didn't actually measure this out)

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


• Mix flour, baking powder, flaxseed, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl.


• Combine milk, peanut butter and chocolate chips in a sauce pan and heat until chocolate chips melt and peanut butter "melt".


• Mix the chocolate/peanut butter mixture with the dry ingredients


• Pour into donut pan and bake for 12-15 minutes (I started with 12 minutes and put it on for 2 more - probably could've gone for 15 minutes and removed)

I'd halved most of the ingredients from last time because I'd had the "muffin top" donuts. This time they came out looking like donuts. They were more moist this time around but I still feel like the recipe needs more tweaking.

Meanwhile, I'm still looking for a good vegan donut recipe that doesn't require a frosting. If anyone out there knows of one, please share! (Note: I can pretty much veganize a recipe so if I have to look outside vegan recipes to find one, that would work too!)

Stuff

I don't want to say that I'm not blogging much lately but I had to make four tries at my password before I guessed the right one. In my defense, someone hacked my google account last summer and it always takes me a couple of tries to get the "new" password right. *sigh*

Anyway, I recently bought a donut pan and decided to create my own kind of donut. It was based on a tried an true recipe but the final result was one of my own making. I was going for a chocolate peanut butter donut because that sounded good in my head. I wrote down the ingredients in case they came out okay, or if they came out good enough that I'd want to "enhance" them at a later date (which was the case, by the way). I haven't played with it since but here's the original recipe:

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking sode
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons chocolate hazelnut butter
1-1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup raw sugar

I forgot to write down the temperature and how long I baked them but looking at the base recipe, I would say 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.

When I decided to make the donuts I thought I would melt the peanut butter and chocolate but didn't feel like wasting the time it would take so I just combined everything into a bowl, mixed it up, poured it into the sprayed pan and popped them in the oven.

Next time I will melt the peanut butter and chocolate and will use more of both. But I guess the point is, I will make them again.

In other cooking news, I made Mushroom Turnovers the other day. You'd have to understand that I'm kind of afraid of mushrooms to understand the importance of this act. For a year or so now I'll periodically buy mushrooms because I want to try them (mostly because of their vitamin D content) but I seem to end up throwing them out a few weeks later as the science project begins in my refrigerator. But this time I cooked them. And ate them! The recipe doesn't say anything about chopping up the sliced white mushrooms but I did chop them into as small of pieces as I could get them into because I didn't think I'd be able to even try the turnovers otherwise. Turns out, they're not that bad. I had a mushroom turnover this afternoon for lunch and I actually forgot about the mushroom content. I know it doesn't sound like a big deal but I'm telling you, it was history making! :)

I watched Friends with Benefits with Justin Timberlake today. I liked it much more than I thought I would. Some might wonder why I'd get the movie if I was anticipating not liking it. I can't answer that because I honestly don't remember adding it to my Netflix queue and I apparently bumped it up the ranks after doing so. But the point is, I did like it - a lot.

Ditto for I Don't Know How She Does It with Sarah Jessica Parker, with the exception of I watched it yesterday. I don't know what I expected from these movies but they were light and fun . . . a good thing.

Did you know that the Game Show Network is airing past seasons of Dancing With The Stars? They started yesterday and they started with season 4 - the season Apolo Anton Ohno won. I've watched every episode of the show that has aired and when the "stars" came out, there was one I didn't remember. Her professional partner was also a one season wonder. They were the "Ken and Barbie" couple. The only thing that came back to me after watching the show was that they stayed too long at the party!

Speaking of staying too long at the party, did you hear that Emily Maynard (the one Brad gave the final rose to in his second run on The Bachelor) is going to be the next Bachelorette? I haven't watched the series from the beginning. In face, I saw the very last episode of Brad's first run and started watching then. I skipped Brad's repeat and believe I'll be doing the same for Emily. I have to think the franchise is not doing well if this is what it's coming down to!

January Book Review

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It's that time again . . . time to talk books.

This month I will be discussing/reviewing Rob Lowe's biography, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. There's just something about Rob Lowe that draws me in. I saw some of his interviews when he was promoting this book and I did my dead-level best to fight the urge to buy this book. Why, I have no idea. But, obviously I broke down and bought (and read it!).

There are a lot of things I want to say about this book but I'm going to start with some writer things.

For example, the opening line of the book is: "I had always had an affinity for him, an admiration for his easy grace, his natural charisma, despite the fact that for the better part of a decade my then girlfriend kept a picture of him running shirtless through Central Park on her refrigerator door." I re-read that sentence several times trying to figure out if Rob was telling the story or if someone was telling a story about Rob. I skimmed a couple of pages until I found a name - any name - in the story to tell me who was "talking". Of course it was Rob telling the story about his girlfriend with someone else's picture on the refrigerator, but it kind of threw me with the first sentence.

Then, for a while, the story was told in a way that, well let me back up a minute. When I read books - autobiographies or not - I see the story play out in my mind like a movie. I can envision what's happening. When I was reading this book, the first quarter or third of it, what I was seeing in my mind was clips of his life narrated by the E! True Hollywood narrator. Rob was telling stories about his life but the way he was doing it was such that the stories didn't seem about him. He seemed really removed or detached from the stories. At least it seemed that way to me. It was actually quite comical to me . . . in my head (you know, hearing the narrator and all).

That all said, I couldn't put the book down. It's really the story of his career. There's very little of his personal life in this book. Personally I would've liked to have more of his personal life in the book but what he wrote was also very telling about the sort of person he is.

For example, he tells stories of things that happened to him during the filming of movies and TV shows. Some of the things done to him were not good but he never really calls anyone out on those things. He didn't take this opportunity to trash anyone or throw them under the bus.

On the other hand, he did take advantage of this opportunity to say some really nice things about a couple of people. For instance, he mentions Jodie Foster in the book on several occasions. It's pretty clear that he considers her a good friend and thinks very highly of her and apparently she's been there for him when he really needed someone in his corner. He also took a moment to tell how Thomas C Howell (Ponyboy in The Outsiders, and who is referred to as Tommy Howell in the book . . . took me a while to figure out who he was talking about) helped him out in a filming situation. It came across as a great kindness on "Tommy's" part. Rob didn't have to tell these stories - no one would've ever known the difference. That he did tell them says a lot, to me anyway.

The further in the book I got, the easier the writing seemed to come to him. There were stories that made me laugh out loud. I just really enjoyed the book and feel comfortable recommending it to anyone that might enjoy an autobiography and/or who is a fan of Rob's.

Now, one last thing on the book before I go . . . I had never seen Footloose before. With the re-make, I decided I needed to see the original and it had finally come in after weeks of it being on a "very long wait" list in my Netflix queue. So, as it was sitting on my entertainment center waiting for me to watch it, I read how Rob had auditioned for the role that went to Kevin Bacon. And as I watched the movie (after I finished the book), I couldn't help but see Rob in the part. In a weird way, it added to the experience of reading Rob's book. :)

So, again, good book. :)

December Book Review

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It's that time again. Time to pick through the books we've read this month and decide which one we're going to recommend.

This month I'm reviewing/recommending another book by Kim Gruenenfelder, There's Cake in My Future. It's a story about friendship and life and changes, all things that can draw an audience but what I really liked about this book is the way the story was told.

Here's the back blurb:

Listening to her friends' latests travails in love, parenting and careers, superstitious bride-to-be Nic believes she has the perfect recipe for everyone's happiness: a bridal shower "cake pull" in which each ribboned silver charm planted in the cake will bring its recipient the magical assistance she needs to change her destiny. Mel, still ringless after dating the same man for six years, should get the engagement ring charm. The red hot chili pepper would be perfect for Seema, who is in love with her best male friend, Scott, but can't seem to make their relationship more than platonic. And recently laid-off journalist Nic wants the shovel, which symbolizes hard work, to help her get her career back on track. Nic does everything she can to control who gets which silver keepsake - as well as the future it represents. But when the charmed cake is mysteriously shifted from the place settings Nic arranged around it, no one gets the charm she chose for them. And when the other party guests' fortunes begin coming true, Mel, Seema and Nic can't help but wonder . . . is the cake trying to tell them something?

As I said, the base of the story is friendship but situations around the charms brings a lot of comedy to the story. Nic is the most upset with the charm she got. Seema tries to convince her that there's nothing to the charms and she has nothing to worry about, all the while she's freaking out over the charm she got because goodness knows it's the LAST charm she'd choose for herself. Meanwhile, while Mel doesn't give a lot of credit to the cake pull charms, she's doing everything in her power to make hers come true (which is hysterical!).

The story is told in first person perspective from the viewpoint of each of the main characters (Nic, Mel and Seema) in alternating chapters, so you're able to really get to know the characters. It's basically a story about love, friendship and the life that happens while you're busy making other plans (who can't relate to that?).

I highly recommend this book and was excited to see that it has a follow up book coming out next year. I'll try to vary my author reviews but if it's as good as this one, chances are you'll be seeing another review of a Kim Gruenenfelder book. :)

October Book Review

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It's time for this month's book review meeting, hosted by Barrie Summy. :)

Last month I reviewed a book that had been recommended to me by amazon.com. This month I'm reviewing a book that was reviewed a few months ago as part of these book reviews hosted by Barrie. (You can see the review here.)

I don't recall what the review said (I'm going to go back and read it after I write this one but I didn't want to be influenced in what I say here so . . . ) but it obviously got my attention because this was one of two books that I've purchased as a result of reading the reviews posted monthly (I still haven't read the other book yet . . . someday).

Anyway, I pulled it out a couple of weeks ago and started reading. The first paragraph got my attention "Some girls have journals. I talk to my poster." Hmmm, sounds like there's a story there, if you ask me. :)

But the story itself is about Alice and her journey to find love. She has a pre-dating Ally-McBeal-sniffs-Billy-Thomas's-butt-when-they-were-eight type of relationship with Jewel (aka Julian - I mention this because I wanted to associate the name of Jewel with a female and that's not the case here). Jewel is her best friend in the world and she's his best friend in the world. They do everything together and nobody understands Alice better than Jewel. But when Simon (the second most popular boy in the school) asks her out, it changes the dynamic of her relationship with Jewel.

Alice doesn't want to hurt Jewel but she wants to explore this relationship with Simon. I think the end result is pretty obvious by page 2 (no, it's not the poster!) but I won't disclose it here, just in case it's not but I'll just say that I found the story resolution satisfying. :)

I'll also say this, I kept looking for the bad guy in the story and there wasn't one. I found the characters to be likeable. I really enjoyed this book.

So, thanks to Beth Yarnall for writing a review that made me want to read this book. It was worth it! :)

September Book Review

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I'm jumping in a little early to post my review this month because the next few days are going to be crazy busy and I really wanted to participate.

That said, the book I'll be reviewing this month is Misery Loves Cabernet by Kim Gruenenfelder. It was referred to me by amazon. Based on purchases and recommendations I've made, they thought I would like this book.

Gotta say, the title is what first caught my attention - I love it. But, I didn't want to purchase it just because it had a catchy title so I jumped down to the reviews. I don't typically read reviews that give away the story and this wasn't an exception but what I discovered was that an overwhelming majority of the reviewers loved the book. The only concern I had was that it appeared to be part of a series, and not the first one. If I know a book is part of a series, my preference is to read them in order. So, I checked into the first book. It didn't seem bad but it didn't intrigue me as much as Cabernet did. Kind of broke my own rule when I started with the second book.

Anyway, I really liked this book a lot. It's about a woman making it on her own. She's got quirky and interesting people in her life and ridiculously funny things happen to her. I've said before that the heroine may not know who the hero is but that I want it to be clear to the reader because if it's not clear to me, I don't enjoy the story as much.

Well, this book makes an exception to that theory because I had no idea who the hero was supposed to be but I didn't care. I was enjoying the journey Charlie (the heroine) was on and I was looking forward to seeing where it took her.

And I loved the characters in the book. In particular, I loved Drew - Charlie's boss. She's his assistant. He's like a little boy that doesn't know about "boundaries". Honestly, I was rooting for him to be the hero because they kind of complemented each other. She'd probably want to kill him in a year or two but the book doesn't take it that far so they would've been fine. ;)

Now, I've said I loved the book but there was something that bothered me from early on. Cabernet is what I'm going to call an independent book. I don't mean stand alone as in one of a series of books that continues the story but it stands on its own. I mean independent as in - in my opinion - the beginning and ending of the book don't allow for a satisfying story before or after the story in this book. To me, this book opened in the exact right place and had a satisfying ending. Thing is, what I know about the first book, it also had a satisfying ending. Had I read it first (and assuming it is as good as this one) I probably would've snatched this one up in a heartbeat, thinking it would be a continuation of the satisfying ending. Of course, that's making assumptions on my part but I just can't see myself reading the first book now without being annoyed by it. The same would go for a book that would follow this one. Sad too because I really did love this book.

So, bottom line is, I loved this book. Definitely will read other books by this author . . . just not necessarily ones that follow this same character's story. :)

Happy National Dog's Day

It's funny because I'd planned to blog today about my dog, Harley. Then I discovered that it was National Dog's Day so I figured I'd better blog about all my boys. I figured I'd tell you how they came to be my dogs.

First there's Max. I like to joke that he came with the house but the truth of the matter is that he was born roughly a week before I moved in and it was a few weeks before I even met him.

He came from a big litter of puppies, all of which would crawl under the fence into my back yard (oh yeah, his "birth owner" lives behind me). All but one of them would climb on me and scratch me, with one sitting back looking at me as if to say "I'm good. I'll still be here when you get a minute. No rush." All but one would wiggle and squirm when I'd pick them up and snuggle them up on my shoulder. The one would rest calmly on my shoulder as if to say "this is the nicest place I've ever been." This went on for weeks.

Of course "the one" is Max. Well, one day the dogs were all in my back yard and I'd actually brought Max into the house with me then noticed that his "birth owner" was at the back fence looking for the last dog that hadn't come home when he got there. I went out with Max and was apologizing for having his dog and asked if I could buy him from him. He gave him to me. And I never looked back. :)

Next came Brewsky. When I moved into my house I had a doberman, Cleo. Max adored Cleo so when she died in 2004, he took it pretty hard. Cleo's death also coincided with a job change (that included longer hours) so Max's life changed dramatically in a very short time. I quickly realized that I needed to change things and pick up the slack and become the "other dog" in Max's life. I started walking him in the morning before work, coming home at lunch and playing with him and then walking him two or three times in the evening just so he was getting exercise. But even with all that, he wasn't handling things well. Then one day this adorable little dog followed us home from a walk. I let him in the front door (okay I had to force him through the first time, after that he knew it was okay) and he played with Max for a while. This became kind of routine that this dog would follow us home several times a week. When he didn't meet up with us Max was visibly sad about it. Over time I kind of figured out who the owner was so I approached them to see what we could do about coordinating play dates with the dogs (yes, play dates!). Long story short, they were looking to get rid of him because he kept getting loose and they ended up giving him to me. I wasn't looking to get another dog at the time but he was what Max needed at the time and now I can't imagine my life without him.

That leaves us with Harley. For several days before I met him I'd come home and the house smelled like wet dog to me. I have a doggy door and at the time I had a kiddie pool for the dogs in the back yard but I couldn't smell the wet dog smell on them so I wasn't sure what was going on. Plus, Max seemed really tired for several days - to the extent I was thinking of taking him to the vet to see what was wrong with him.

Anyway, I always talk to my dogs when I'm leaving the house, even if it's just to say (like I did this morning when I left to go to the grocery store) "I'll be back shortly." Well, on the day I first met Harley, I had a massage scheduled for after work so I told Max and Brewsky that I'd be late that night because I had a massage after work but I wouldn't be too late. Then I got to work and had a voicemail message that the massage needed to be rescheduled. So I came home at my regular time. When I came into the house I was greeted by Max, Brewsky . . . and Harley. He was IN my house! Turns out there was a fence post down and he'd wiggled his way through it and followed the other dogs into the house through the doggy door. (I apparently took them by surprise because they thought I'd be home later and I've since amended my "discussions" with them to include "no friends can come in the house!" hehehe)

For a while he'd camp out on my front porch and follow me in the house to play with Max and Brewsky for a while and then I'd put him back out again. Once I saw him follow two girls with a dog down a cul de sac street so when he wasn't on my porch one day, I went down that street to talk to his owner. I was concerned that he was always loose but I wanted to have play dates with my other dogs. Long story short, this family was feeding Harley but didn't consider him their dog. She said that his real owner had thrown him out and they were considering calling animal control on him. I told her if she did that, they'd destroy him and I said I'd see what I could do about finding him a home because I already had two dogs and that's the limit in the subdivision.

He's been my dog since I walked away from their house with him. I worried for months that it'd be found out that I had more dogs than allowed but it's been almost five years ago so I think I'm okay. :)

Happy National Dog's Day!

Little Women

A while back Turner Classic Movies ran two versions of Little Women. Then a couple of weeks later, the third version was run on another station (unfortunately with commercials!). I set my DVR to record them all and today I finally sat down and watched them all . . . back-to-back-to-back. I watched them in the order they were filmed.

I started with the 1933 version starring Katharine Hepburn. I'll start by saying, I enjoyed the movie. I also love Katharine Hepburn. That said, I didn't much care for the way Jo was portrayed. At least for the first 30 minutes or so of the movie. Katharine Hepburn has a husky voice to begin with and the character of Jo is a tomboy but, for whatever reason, that combination wasn't working for me.

After a while though, it seemed like the "butch-ness" of the character was toned down. Jo was still a tomboy and Katharine still had the husky voice but it seemed to fit better. Maybe I just got used to it. Whatever the case, it wasn't grating on my nerves anymore.

Bottom line, I enjoyed the movie.

Next I watched the 1949 version, starring June Allyson. According to my DVR listing, it starred June Allyson and Peter Lawford. When I started playing the movie the opening credits showed that Elizabeth Taylor and Janet Leigh were also in the movie. As I was watching it, I realized that the March's maid was played by the same person who played the cranky neighbor / Little Ricky babysitter from I Love Lucy, Mrs. Trumbell! I guess what I'm saying is that I was surprised at the number of actors I was familiar with in this version of the movie.

That said, I had the same problem with June Allyson's portrayal of Jo as I did Katharine Hepburn's. Her voice is husky and the tomboy-ishness of Jo was overplayed, in my opinion. I think what it is is that they didn't come across as feminine at all to me - and that bugged me. The difference with this version is it didn't seem to go away during the course of the movie.

Despite that, I did enjoy this version as well. There were other distractions too though. For example, this was before Elizabeth Taylor developed her classic good looks - at least in my opinion. But the character of Amy (which is the part she played) was very vain. Kind of funny / ironic, if you ask me. Oh and Janet Leigh. Very understated. I thought she did a great job as Meg. I had to keep reminding myself that it was Janet Leigh.

Then last (but not least), I watched the 1994 version, starring Winona Ryder. I think it's very possible that I liked this one best because it was the first version I ever saw of it.

But then again, I didn't have the distractions about it that I had with the others. From Winona's portrayal of Jo I got that she was a tomboy but she also was very feminine. No "butch-ness" about it.

You add to that that there was more humor in this version of the movie. Overall, the characters were more relatable in this version than in the other two versions. At least in my opinion.

They all three were good movies that I can in good conscious recommend but when it comes down to it, this one was my favorite of the three.

In a related side-bar, I also learned today that there were two silent film versions made based on the book. I don't know if there are copies out there to be had but I think it would be real interesting to see what they did with those. What do you think? Would you watch a silent film version of Little Women? Inquiring minds want to know.

July Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

I originally told Barrie that I was going to review My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody. I love the concept of this book - letting someone else make your decisions for you. It's well written and a lot of fun. And, if you've never seen Jessica's book trailers, you really should check them out because I don't think anyone does a book trailer better than Jessica - and her books live up to the trailer. So, that's my mini recommendation on that book (and Jessica's books in general).

But like the first sentence of this post suggests, I changed my mind about what I wanted to review. That's what happens when you read several good books in a month, and in particular, what happens when you read a great book AFTER you say what you're going to review. :)

That all said, I want to discuss Fairy Bad Day by Amanda Ashby. For starters, I'm a huge fan of Amanda's. Her debut book You Had Me at Halo is still among my top three favorite books of all times. So I was excited when Fairy Bad Day came out.

Here's the back blurb:

My life seriously couldn't get any worse

First, my rightful designation of dragon slayer is STOLEN right out from under my nose by Curtis Green. Sure, he's really cute, but that doesn't give him an excuse.

On top of all that, I am assigned to slay fairies. I know what you're thinking--how hard could it be, right? Wrong! These menacing beasts with their tiny hipster clothes and mocking sarcasm love taunting me. And they won't STOP!

But the thing that tops my list of stuff to ruin my day? That would be GIANT KILLER FAIRY that I have to hunt down and slay because I am the only one who can see it. There is someone who can help me. Unfortunately . . . it's Curtis.

It's going to be a Fairy Bad Day.

It's smart and funny. I loved it. I will say though, that it started slow for me. I was a couple of chapters in and kind of worried that I wasn't going to like it because it really hadn't grabbed me yet. Next thing I knew, I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend it. :)

June Book Review

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@Barrie Summy

Okay, I'm having computer issues this morning so I'll have to add the picture of the book later today but I wanted to go ahead and get the party started!

This month I'm reviewing Eileen Cook's Fourth Grade Fairy. I should probably mention that Eileen is one of my "auto-buy" authors. I don't care what she's writing, I want to read it. And so far I've never been let down. Fourth Grade Fairy was no exception.

Willow is born into a family of fairies. Due to some bad history with humans, the fairies are not allowed to be friends with the humans anymore. Unfortunately, Willow wants this more than anything. In fairy school everyone is already partnered up with a best friend. While she has friends, she doesn't have a best friend and because of the number of fairies in school, having that special friend doesn't look likely. So, she wants to attend human school because there are so many more people there and the chances of finding a best friend are greater.

For her tenth birthday her grandmother gives her the gift of attending the human school (where she is the principal) for two weeks. Her parents agree to it, provided she doesn't get her special power (fairies typically get their special powers on their tenth birthday) while there. So, when she gets her power, she decides to hide it from the family until she's secured a best friend (after all, how hard can that be?). Of course there are complications along the way. (Life is what happens when you're busy making plans, after all. Right? :) )

One of the things I love about Ms Cook's books is that she taps into the "every man/woman" vulnerabilities so well. She paints a picture that is so vivid that it's very easy to visualize. Which is why when she paints her characters into impossibly funny situations, I find myself laughing hysterically. And this book was no different. I completely loved it. I loved the characters (this is another one where an animal stole my heart - Winston, I'm talking to you!!!). It was well written and fun. I highly recommend it.