Ding! Dong! The Deck Is Back!

Through much hard work...Den...and much supervising...Patty...the deck is back together again!
This is the pond part...too bad it was way too hot to enjoy it today!



Lucy Grace watched our efforts with tons of enthusiasm! Yawn!



Happy Saturday!!!
Hurray for takeaway Chinese food and icy cold beer!

Wow...

I have read 102 books so far this year...but who's counting? Yeah...right...me...I am the one who is counting...lol.
This is what I have thought about...

I could sit on the deck and not read.
I could watch tv without a book in my hands.
I could get on a plane and just chat with Den.
I could go right to sleep without my iPad fading into black because I fell asleep while I was reading.
I could actually listen to Den when he calls from airports.
I could wake up and savor the moment instead of grasping for my book.
I could stop reading right now and not even feel a teensy bit guilty.

But...here's the thing...I just can't.

Ever since my mom put that first pop up CandyLand book in my hand I have been addicted. And another book about kittens...in the story the kittens wore mittens that turned into candy when the kittens wore them and they would nibble on them and get into trouble ...hmmm...cats, books, does this stuff imprint on us when we are that little?

I am incapable of stopping and now that I have time to read...I really really read!

I think that I read a lot because I can read while other things are going on...I can tune things out...but is that good or bad?

Ok...totally done with over analyzing my reading personality...but...100 books seemed like a celebratory number...somewhat like celebrating 100 days of school...or comparing it to someone I love and live with...not Lucy...who is starting book # 2...sorry, Den...

Any way...off to buy the stuff to make carnitas for a proper homecoming for a boy starting book # 2!!!




What you don't see in this photo is...I am reading while she is trying to engage me!!!

Orange Crush!!!

Look at these...just look at them! Lovely orangey covers!

From Amazon...

Eyewitness to two killings, fourteen-year-old Gabriel James relates the shocking story behind the murders in a police interrogation interspersed with flashbacks. Step by step, this Montana teenager traces his discovery of a link between a troubled classmate's disturbing home life and an outbreak of local crime. In the process, however, Gabriel becomes increasingly confused about his own culpability for the explosive events that have unfolded.




Amazon Best Books of the Month, August 2012...

At the center of We Sinners is the Rovaniemi family--two parents and nine children, all adherents to a hyperconservative Finnish church in the Midwest. Each chapter takes the perspective of a different family member, furthering the tension between the belief that faith should bring family together and the fact that it is tearing the Rovaniemis apart. This is an impressive debut, a showcase of Hanna Pylväinen's gift for nuanced storytelling and an eye for beautiful, economical prose. But perhaps most impressive is that Pylväinen isn't afraid to take big risks with her first novel--the ending, which diverges greatly from the book's structure, drew a mixed reaction from our editorial staff. But love it or hate it, I found that I kept thinking about We Sinners long after I had set it on my bookshelf. --Kevin Nguyen




This one...again from Amazon...

For more than thirty years, Edie and Richard Middlestein shared a solid family life together in the suburbs of Chicago. But now things are splintering apart, for one reason, it seems: Edie's enormous girth. She's obsessed with food--thinking about it, eating it--and if she doesn't stop, she won't have much longer to live.
When Richard abandons his wife, it is up to the next generation to take control. Robin, their schoolteacher daughter, is determined that her father pay for leaving Edie. Benny, an easy-going, pot-smoking family man, just wants to smooth things over. And Rachelle-- a whippet thin perfectionist-- is intent on saving her mother-in-law's life, but this task proves even bigger than planning her twin children's spectacular b'nai mitzvah party. Through it all, they wonder: do Edie's devastating choices rest on her shoulders alone, or are others at fault, too?




And finally...this one...From Amazon...

A hilarious, action-packed look at the apocalypse that combines a touching tale of friendship, a thrilling war story, and an all out kung-fu infusedmission to save the world.Gonzo Lubitch and his best friend have been inseparable since birth. They grew up together, they studiedmartial arts together, they rebelled in college together, and they fought in the Go-Away War together. Now, with the world in shambles and dark nightmarish clouds billowing over the wastelands, they have been tapped for an incredibly perilous mission. But they quickly realize that this assignment is not all it seems, and before it is over they will have encountered everything from mimes, ninjas, and pirates to one ultra-sinister mastermind, whose only goal is world domination. Unlike anything else, The Gone-Away World is a remarkable literary debut that will be remembered and rediscovered for years to come.




Do any of these sound interesting to you?

Cozy Reading Corner...

I finished this last night...my surprise book...the book I didn't realize I had...the book that seemed to pop up out of nowhere! It really is about three women who have been friends for a long time and remain friends as their lives unravel in different ways. Kate...wealthy wife of a potential governor of Virginia...and the scandal her husband puts her through, Amy...hiding the angry behavior of her husband, and Waverly...about to lose her bakery but she won't tell anyone about it. This book was so good I was shocked when it ended.



I have to totally change genres because I am still thinking about this book.

So...time for a mystery! Quite a change...isn't it? Time to mix my genres up!
I will have more thoughts about this one tomorrow!
Stay tuned...lol!



My favorite reading spot...I try to read here every day...although I share it with Lucy.
That's her pile of toys on my ottoman...of course.


What plans do you have on this lovely Wednesday?

Surprise!

Today I am reading a book that I didn't even realize I had!

I mean I narrowed it to three choices yesterday...then I started flipping through all of the egalleys on my iPad...and I found this!

Isn't this a yummy lovely cover? It's about three very different women and their friendship. It's also one of those perfect egalleys...the pages are lined up nicely...I can use my flip the page feature. It's my idea of reading perfection. And I just keep looking at the cover...those little black ballet flats...so sweet.



And in this book the three very good friends are each keeping secrets from each other...none of them eager to tell all.

Hmmm...

Why is it that I never read what I think I am going to read?

Reading can be such a "what am I really in the mood for" kind of thing for me. I truly hate starting and stopping a book...I rarely do that...that's why choosing what to read next is such a big deal for me. Lately I think it's harder to choose with egalleys, especially if they don't have a color cover...I hate that.

I almost totally forgot about this book...when my Bluefire Reader crashed....this was lost!

Thank goodness I found it again! I am now about half of the way through...and liking it but puzzled by some of the character actions...the main character is a teacher...

I am loving her boxer buddy Bandit.




This summary is from Amazon...
While driving to a charming village tucked away deep in the Cascade Mountains of eastern Washington, where she is to begin a new job teaching high school English, Katrina Burton picks up a young hitchhiker who turns out to be drunk and predatory. Fearful for her safety, she lies about her destination in order to get him out of the car. But when she later discovers that he is a teacher at the same school, she finds herself feeding that initial lie with more lies. Then Katrina meets a mysterious man . Handsome, charismatic and strong, he is exactly what she needs to extricate her from the expanding network of lies, now spinning out of control. She falls fast and hard for him. But her perfect solution soon becomes a nightmare that lands her in the middle of a grisly murder. And Katrina's problems don't stop there. She must decide whether to betray her new love or to cover up the murder and hope for the best.

What are you reading today?

Not Much Going On...

Last night's lettuce wrapped hamburgers were so good!

Last night's Hot Fudge Pie...better than good...crispy at its edges and ooey gooey at is center...amazing!

Finished this book...I did not realize how much I would love it. It was that good.


Puss In Boots? Den and I sat and watched the entire movie in spite of ourselves...Lucy? Not so much.

Reading...one of these...still deciding...





Thanks for showing me this one, Ti!


Are you doing anything exciting today?

I actually don't want to do anything exciting today...we have a K.D.Lang concert, a trip to Colorado without Lucy, and a trip to Maine with Lucy...all looming...so doing nothing really suits me right now.