Book For This Week - 9/25/10

To Die For
by
Linda Howard

From Publishers Weekly:

"Howard brings her usual high level of intelligence and flair to her latest tale of romantic suspense (after Kiss Me While I Sleep). Successful health club owner Blair Mallory is the only witness when a troublemaking member gets shot behind her North Carolina gym. Since the killer may not realize that Blair hasn't seen his face, she needs police protection—but her difficulties only escalate when Lt. Wyatt Bloodworth, with whom she had a short but intense relationship several years earlier, is assigned to the case. Still smarting from Wyatt's unexplained rejection, Blair resists his macho self-confidence; Wyatt in turn is irritated by her refusal to follow orders, even as he succumbs to her feisty charm and potent sexuality. Their investigations promptly reveal a major suspect, but the attacks on Blair continue even after the alleged killer is apprehended. As they consider a new array of possible murderers, the pair (aided and abetted by their colorful families) conduct a spirited battle of the sexes. Blair's chirpy asides on everything from underwear to men will wear on readers by the middle of the book, when the plot's momentum stalls. Still, Blair's surface fluffiness and underlying savvy make her an engaging narrator, and the book's witty Southern "take" on womanhood will amuse readers in the region and beyond."

(This book is not my cup of tea although some might enjoy it . There is actually a sequel,  which I will not bother with.  Once I purchased what is termed a "lot"  on ebay of audio books and this was in that group.  While that purchase exposed me to some authors I will  seek out in the future,  this is not one of those.  Click on the author's name and title to learn more details.  If you like trashy romances you will want to grab this one.)

Book For This Week - 9/22/10

The Summons





by







John Grisham

From the author's website:

"Ray Atlee is a professor of law at the University of Virginia. He’s forty-three, newly single, and still enduring the aftershocks of a surprise divorce. He has a younger brother, Forrest, who redefines the notion of a family’s black sheep.

And he has a father, a very sick old man who lives alone in the ancestral home in Clanton, Mississippi. He is known to all as Judge Atlee, a beloved and powerful official who has towered over local law and politics for forty years. No longer on the bench, the Judge has withdrawn to the Atlee mansion and become a recluse.

With the end in sight, Judge Atlee issues a summons for both sons to return home to Clanton, to discuss the details of his estate. It is typed by the Judge himself, on his handsome old stationery, and gives the date and time for Ray and Forrest to appear in his study.

Ray reluctantly heads south, to his hometown, to the place where he grew up, which he prefers now to avoid. But the family meeting does not take place. The Judge dies too soon, and in doing so leaves behind a shocking secret known only to Ray.

And perhaps someone else."

(As I have mentioned in the past I really like John Grisham's books and  while my favorite will always be "The Last Juror"  I must admit that "The Summons"  just knocked "The Testament"  out of second place.  While the canoe trip down the Amazon River in "The Testament"  was very exciting  it can't beat Ray Atlee's situaion for sitting on the edge of one's seat.  As always,  click on the the author's name and title of the book to the right of the  picture of the book to follow the links and learn more.)

Essenhaus Amish Style Inn

http://www.essenhaus.com/
Mark and I have talked about going to Essenhaus for dinner since the holidays last year but decided to wait on good weather. When good weather came we got busy and forgot about it. But when he asked me to pick a special place to eat tonight as we were celebrating my passing my microbiology test last month tonight (had to celebrate my birthday and had to have my week to cook in between there) I remembered Essenhaus. So we drove the hour north tonight and went to Essenhaus. Boy oh boy oh - did we ever leave full!!! The food was wonderful too!!

Now That Some Time Has Passed Since Health Insurance Reform Became The Law . . .

Every one has had time to get over being either furious or happy over the passage of Health Insurance Reform but of course we all still want more details of how it will effect our lives.  I just found this little video that I think explains the changes and when they can be expected to happen in a simple manner.

Book For This Week - 9/11/10

Looking For

Alaska

by


John Green

From School Library Journal

"Grade 9 Up - Sixteen-year-old Miles Halter's adolescence has been one long nonevent - no challenge, no girls, no mischief, and no real friends. Seeking what Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps," he leaves Florida for a boarding school in Birmingham, AL. His roommate, Chip, is a dirt-poor genius scholarship student with a Napoleon complex who lives to one-up the school's rich preppies. Chip's best friend is Alaska Young, with whom Miles and every other male in her orbit falls instantly in love. She is literate, articulate, and beautiful, and she exhibits a reckless combination of adventurous and self-destructive behavior. She and Chip teach Miles to drink, smoke, and plot elaborate pranks. Alaska's story unfolds in all-night bull sessions, and the depth of her unhappiness becomes obvious. Green's dialogue is crisp, especially between Miles and Chip. His descriptions and Miles's inner monologues can be philosophically dense, but are well within the comprehension of sensitive teen readers.   The language and sexual situations are aptly and realistically drawn, but sophisticated in nature. Miles's narration is alive with sweet, self-deprecating humor, and his obvious struggle to tell the story truthfully adds to his believability."


(I finished listening to this on audio as I peeled and cored pears for canning this morning.  This is the first young adult book I have listened to this year and it is one that I will highly recommend to any young adult 18 or above.  I would not be comfortable with my ninth grader reading it. (if I had one)due to sexual content.   Although very funny in parts and very sad in parts,  a profoundness resonates throughout the book.  As always,  click on the author's name and title to follow the links to more information.  This is one that I would like to have a hard copy of in my personal library to lift quotes from.  It deals with the suffering we all feel in life in a very comforting way.)

Death and Disease from Power Plants

http://www.catf.us/coal/problems/power_plants/existing/
Click on your state on the interactive map at this site and see the stats.

Iron Jawed Angels Part 1/12

Birthday Gift

As you may know,  I turned 53 the end of last month.   Mark took me out for fillet mignon at Logan's the week before.   Yesterday,  he put landscaping timbers around my back flower bed off of my deck!  This is something I have wanted done since I purchased my condo seven years ago!!

Keep It In Drive

I work second shift so always am watching things a couple days after they happen.  If any one else missed this speech - here it is.  BTW I am posting because I liked it.

Book For This Week - 9/07/10

Midnight

by

Dean Koontz

From Library Journal

Four people are the last hope of Moonlight Cove, because one by one the rest of the citizens are changing into boogymen, werewolves, mythical creatures, or something entirely new. They are the New People, willing victims of a seductive experiment in chemically induced evolution. They can transform their bodies at will and eliminate unproductive emotions, like grief and compassion. In fact, the only instinct left to the New People is self-preservation, and their only emotion is fear. And they want the rest of humanity to join them. Popular author Koontz ( Watchers , Lighting ) has again delivered a gripping horror thriller with well-drawn characters and plenty of suspense.

(I just finished listening to this audio book on my way home from work tonight.  This was a gift from a MP friend and as always,  Dean Koontz kept me awake on my commute.  I was a little afraid to walk out to the mail box a couple of nights when I got home after second shift though after listening to this book on the way home.  Don't forget to click on the author's name and the title of the book to follow the links and learn more.)

Happy Labor Day

Gulf War Song - Moxy Früvous

My nephew posted this on FB. I wanted to have it where I could find it here on MP.