Exceedingly Mundane

Here’s an excerpt from the book I just finished, “Big Stone Gap”. It has a subplot running through it about certain character’s mothers getting sick and passing away. These words really hit home to me. I still struggle a lot with missing my Mom. I asked Tim last night at supper (we were at Cock of the Walk), if he still missed his grandmother a lot. He said he did, but that it gets better with time. He told me he thought I was a lot better, and I told him that I thought I was just a lot better at hiding it from him. 🙂

Anyway, this really got to me. Read on, if you’re interested

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I just finished reading “Big Stone Gap” by Adriana Trigiani. I must admit that I had a bit of a time getting into it, but boy, once I did, it was really good. I quite enjoyed it by the end. Of course, it had a really good ending, and books and movies with good endings just bowl me over. I am a sucker for a happy ending.

By the way, this was book #20 for me on the year. Woo-hoo! 😀

I have to return this book and my 2 audiobooks to the library on Friday. I’m heavily debating whether to check out more (which is what I want to do), but I feel like if I check out more books, I will just read and not do any scrapbooking. I got all of our vacation pictures printed and had wanted to start working on those. But, boy, when I get into reading mode, I really don’t want to do anything else.

Alrighty then. What’s a girl to do!

OK, here’s a question and a comment for those of you who listen to audiobooks. I know audio books have been around for a while, but I had never actually tried listening to one.

I went to the library last Friday and checked out 2 audio cd’s, and have already ripped one to my PC and transferred it to my iPod. I started trying to listen to the audiobook last night at bedtime. Now, granted – I was in bed and getting sleepy. But boy, I had a terrible time trying to concentrate and retain anything I had heard. Is this common? Something I need to get used to? I seem to retain information a lot more, I am starting to realize, if I see it written. Is it just me, or is anyone else like that?

Chime in and let me know if you love audiobooks, hate them, couldn’t care less, and whether it took you a while to get used to “listening” to someone else read a book, rather than just reading the darn thing yourself!

Well, I don’t like to give up on things, especially books (even though most of you advised me to put it down – read the original post and comments here) . So, I dug in my heels and persevered and finished my latest book, “Sushi for Beginners” by Marian Keyes. You can read my review of it here on Hambones.org.

I did rather enjoy it towards the end and wanted to see how it turned out. It tied things up nicely, which is very important to me. I don’t like books that end badly or leave me hanging.

I have one more checked out from the library, the next one in the numbered Stephanie Plum series – “Hot Six”. I started it last night since Tim was locked up in the computer room till after midnight working on Hambones.

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that is the question of the day. Please read below and cast your vote in the form of a reply (I need to find a poll system for my blog!) 🙂

How many of you have started a book, and not been thrilled with it, and then just abandoned it? I seem to have a completion complex that drives me to complete what I start. I hate to give up on a book and not see it through to the end. I had this dilemma a few weeks ago when I was reading trying to read “Blue Shoe” by Anne Lamott. (You can check out the review here). I really struggled to finish it and was rather disappointed at the end that I “sort of wasted” my time reading it.

I am starting to feel that way, a bit, about the one I’m currently reading – “Sushi for Beginners” by Marian Keyes. I like the premise (remember, I read “chic lit”) – career girl working at a London magazine, thinks she is on the fast track to a glamorous promotion to New York, only to find she’s been shunted off to the hinterlands (Ireland) to helm a new start-up magazine there. She’s learning the ropes, the different culture, the people, the new city, etc. I like it, per se, but it is soooo slow. It’s dragging along like a dental appointment. I’m only 1/3 of the way through it (and it’s about 425 pages long). I just can’t decide whether to keep plugging along (maybe it will get better?), or just chuck it and read the next one on my list. Mind you, I check these out of the library, so I’m not out any money. But still. I hate to give up on anything.

Can anyone out there help me solve my dilemma?

Not a whole lot “blog-worthy” going on. The sun is actually out today and it’s rather pretty outside. I just finished watering some of the flowers and deadheading my moss rose and petunias. I took some pictures of some of the flowers blooming in the yard and might post some later (yeah, I know, don’t everyone get all excited at once 🙂 ). It didn’t really rain much yesterday either, so Tim decided to mow and do all the yard work when he got in. It all looks really good. The grass is really green from all the rain we’ve had recently.

I finished my latest book last night. I give it an enthusiastic two-thumbs up, my highest rating, etc. I loved it. No other words to describe it. I do believe it’s one of the best books I have read in a long time. Maybe not everyone would like it, but I thoroughly and completely enjoyed it. I read it in two nights flat – I believe that’s a new record for me on a book like this. You can read more in the review I just typed up at Hambones.

More good news on the Vonage front. I got an email from Vonage today that BellSouth had accepted our letter of transfer and they should be transferring our phone line soon; in fact, it’s scheduled for tomorrow. Which will be wonderful – we’ll have unlimited nationwide long distance, caller id, call waiting, call forwarding, Internet voice mail, and lots of other features. All for $24.99 a month. You can’t beat that. I mostly wanted it for the caller id. I have wanted it for a while but just didn’t want to pay what BellSouth wanted for it every month. Now, it’s “free”, or so I think, gotta look at it that way! We’ll have to do some work tonight with the VOIP box, the new phones, and other various hardware issues (read: Tim will be busy doing this stuff tonight!), but hopefully it will all go smooth. Let us know if you can’t get us at the house though! 😀

I’ve been working really hard at getting back into a swing of reading books. I started reading right after the Super Bowl ended, around the first week of February, and I’ve been reading pretty much non-stop since. I have finished 16 books, and have high hopes for reading a lot more this summer, now that all of our TV shows are over till the fall. It’s a goal, but it’s also something I love to do. I have loved reading and books all of my life, it’s something that was instilled in me at a very young age, I think by my mom. I can remember growing up, I either had my nose stuck in a book or in front of the TV.

Anyway, last week I finished two more books (to bring my total to 16) – High Five by Janet Evanovich (still working my way through these numbered books), and a Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. You can read my review of “A Year in Provence” here.

Today, I dropped those two books back at the library, and got 3 more. That should keep me busy till we leave on vacation the last of June. I plan to take the new Nicholas Sparks “True Believer” with me on vacation and hope to read some. I would rather take one that I own rather than a library book out of town… just in case!

I just added the 3 new books to my sidebar. They are:
1) Three Weeks with my Brother – by Nicholas and Micah Sparks
2) Sushi for Beginners – by Marian Keyes
3) Hot Six – by Janet Evanovich (yes, I’m reading them in order, even though you don’t have to, I’m very anal about things like that).

I better get busy with these! 🙂 They are due back in 3 weeks. 🙂

Tim had to work late last night at the office, to get stuff ready for their weekly Tuesday night conference call. I took the opportunity to read more on my book while the house was quiet. When Tim got home, we watched American Idol and then House, and then he started back on his laptop and worked till about 1:30 AM. I sat up till about 11:15 PM and finished my book! It was pretty good. It took me a while to get into it, as her style is a bit different. But once it started clicking, it went very fast and was hard to put down. I really enjoyed it! I have to go do a review on Hambones sometimes soon. In the mean time, I am going to start on “A Year in Provence” by Peter Mayle soon, maybe today or tomorrow. It is an older book and has been on my list for years. I’m not sure if I will like the style of it, but since I got it at the library, it’s worth a try!

Well, I sat up a little late last night and finished my latest book. “Shopaholic & Sister” was a light, fun, entertaining read (as was the other book in this series that I had previously read). I like this author and these books. They are guaranteed to be good for a lot of laughs. 😆

I am headed back to the library tomorrow, to drop these two off and see about getting more books. I’m open to suggestions for books to read, if anyone wants to suggest something they have read or enjoyed. Gail has offered to loan me some of her “Zion Chronicles” books, which I will try, but it may be a bit before we see them again, so I’m looking for something else to read in the mean time. We do have several more John Grisham books I have not read, and the latest Nicholas Sparks one I bought. But, I might pick up one or two more at the library – so, send me some ideas!

Well, I feel like I have removed a small portion of the proverbial “monkey on my back” just now. I just entered 3 reviews in the Reviews section of Hambones. Two are for movies we saw two (soon to be three) weekends ago. Ocean’s Twelve and Spanglish. The other is for a book I really struggled with, and didn’t particularly love, called “Blue Shoe”.

I know we’re different from a lot of you in what we like to watch and what I like to read. Tim and I enjoy movies for the pure entertainment and escapism factor of them. We like non-thinking, non-controversial types of movies. The same goes for me with books – I like what I fondly refer to as “chick lit”. Not Harlequin romance or trashy stuff. Not high-brow either. Nor the classics, although I really should be rereading a lot of those. No, I like to pick up a book and be transported into somewhere far away, fun, entertaining, funny, enchanting or otherwise engaging. I like to read to escape, not to be enlightened or educated. Very different from many of you, but that’s me. Just me.

So there (big sigh), having said that, read the reviews at your own risk. They are open to all members and visitors alike on Hambones.org (as are the recipes) – check them out here

I’m happy to report that I finished another book last night. This makes number eleven for the year, since I started back on my reading phase in late January. Last night I finished up the next one in the numbered Stephanie Plum series, “Four to Score”. I am really enjoying these books. I like the characters, I like the plots, and I enjoy how easy to read they are. I do not like the language, but I consider it part of the overall package – after all, our girl Stephanie is a bounty hunter who deals with low-life scumbags, thieves, murderers, prostitutes, etc. If it didn’t have some bad language, it wouldn’t be true to its genre.

I think I will probably read the new Nicholas Sparks book I picked up last week, called “True Believer”. Then again, I may go back to the library and get more from my ever-expanding list. And more temptingly, I might, just might, break down and do some online ordering. I “window shop” all the time at various online sites, and most of the time, I’m happy to just put things in my wish list or cart, without actually buying them! But, every few months, I get the itch to order stuff, and buy new books and cookbooks, and I do feel that that urge is rearing its ugly head again. I’m trying to fight it, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to resist. I feel that an order to Amazon or Barnesandnoble.com or even Overstock.com may be coming up soon. Real soon. 😀

I finished another good Stephanie Plum book last night, “Three to Get Deadly”. I am really enjoying this series. I like reading books where I know the character is going to come back, and we get to learn more about them, and follow them through more plots. Of course, in Stephanie’s case, it’s just more wackiness and her trying to learn to be a “fugitive apprehension agent” or bounty hunter as her 80-something year old grandmother calls her. 🙂

I’m going to start on “Four to Score” today… then it will be time for another trip to the library to track down the next ones in the series. I know she’s written at least 9 in this series, maybe 10. So, I’ve got several more to go! 😀

I ran to the library this morning to drop off one book that I had finished (Shopaholic Ties the Knot, gotta do that review soon), and pick up two more. I had them put the next Stephanie Plum book on hold, as soon as it came in from another patron. It was supposed to be in on 3/23, but they didn’t call me till Saturday, so I guess the other person was late returning it. This one is “Three to Get Deadly”, and while I was there, I asked about the fourth one, and picked it up as well – “Four to Score”. These books are very light and entertaining, and quick reads. I have 3 weeks to get them back to the libarary, and at the rate I’ve been reading lately, I think that will be plenty of time. 🙂

I am actually rather proud of myself… this makes 9 books that I have read since the end of January. I do believe that’s a new record for me. I know before I met Tim, I was a voracious reader. But, that was the old days, when I was single and not as busy! I don’t think I’ve read this much in a while, and I’m very pleased about it. I do love books, bookstores and libraries.

I can walk into a bookstore and something overcomes me. Some kind of feeling of, oooh, I want to read this and that, and thumb through this book, and sit down and read this magazine, and just sit back and enjoy the quiet. I’m not sure what it is or how to describe it. I have always been that way. I have always loved libraries and bookstores. Even more so now that I have finally “taught” myself to drink coffee (flavored only, thank you very much) and cappuccinos. Places like Barnes and Noble and Borders are even more appealing, and dangerous, to me now. 🙂

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Well, the post last night about the Schiavo thing and my wishes has me all melancholy and thoughtful. I heard this song a few minutes ago, and even though I have heard it several times before, it really hit a lot closer to home this go-round. It’s called “If Heaven” and is by Andy Griggs. I don’t own the mp3 of this song, and despite a quick Google search, I couldn’t find a free one (gasp!) to download to my PC.

Several parts of the lyrics really got to me…

“and everyone I loved was still alive”
“if thats what Heavens made of, then you know, I ain’t afraid to die”
“if Heaven were a pie, it would be cherry”. 🙂

I did find a place to play the video and/or music from it, so try this if you want to hear what it sounds like:

For Windows Media Player (video+music) click Here

For Real Player (music only) click Here

Obviously, you should be on a high speed connection to do these. It’s a nice song, and it fits my mood for today. I’ve been thinking about my blog entry, and as it turns out, this is one of those days when I’m missing my mom more than normal.

I finished this book by James Patterson tonight. “Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas”. It took me less than 24 hours to read, and that’s with only reading in the evenings. A very quick read. Either Amanda’s comments in the Reviews section of Hambones or else my finely tuned sense of intuition tipped me off to the ending very early on. I knew what was going to happen and expected it. It wasn’t the least bit sad to me, I didn’t shed a tear. It was a good story though, and I am now happy to say that I have read a total of 8 books since late January. I believe that might be a new record for me! Tim has read three, which is good for him, too.

I will return this book and “The Guardian” to the library later this week. I have the next Stephanie Plum book on hold at the library. I’m on number three now, “Three to Get Deadly”. It’s due in on 3/23, so hopefully they will call from the library this week. I will have to try to find something else to read too, either book #4 in the Stephanie Plum series, or maybe another one. I do still have several more Grishams here to read, so I may switch back to him. I dunno, will have to see what I can find. 🙂