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Showing posts from August, 2014

American Primitive Poems by Mary Oliver

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I misplaced my book for a while. So glad I found it again. This time I refused to put it down again because Mary Oliver in American Primitive took me on a Nature walk. American Primitive by Mary Oliver brims over like the white waters of a waterfall with goodness. It is so easy to see whatever she sees on this walk or to feel whatever she feels. One poem is about a little girl who gets lost. The poet gives the child's name. This made me feel the loss in a deeper way. Her name is Lydia Osburn. There is a poem about Tecumseh whom I want to know more about. I like this part of the poem most of all. "Where are the Shawnee now? Do you know? Or would you have to write to Washington, and even then, whatever they said, would you believe it? It's hard to pull back from my memory all of what she describes in this poetry book. There are bears, roses, snakes, berries, etc. I'm glad "Snakes" is a short poem because I could literally feel them glide quickly pas

Making Sense Of The Bible by David Whitehead

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When seeing this title offered by Bethany House, I liked it immediately because of the title. However, there was a sinking feeling that the title might not live up to its words. It did not take long to realize the author, David Whitehead , truly intends to help readers Make Sense Of The Bible. This book made me want to pick up the Bible without fear of not understanding any one of its sixty-six books. David Whitehead's book is a small book. It's very easy to understand. He incredibly and cleverly describes the message of each book of the Bible. I had so many wrong ideas. I found the right answers. It made me feel like a friend had given me a small and easy quiz to take with the desire that I make a hundred on the quiz. For example, what does it mean when hearing a pastor or anyone say the words "Major and Minor Prophets?" The answer is amazing to me and a simple one. Also, I did not realize there is so much Poetry in the Bible. People read the Bible just for it

Book Beginnings

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http://rosecityreader.blogspot.com It was unseasonably warm for February, even for California. The day was sunny and crisp, and we had a four-hour break during my older daughter's swimming competition, so my younger daughter asked me if we could go shopping. Naturally. Eleven-year-old Jessie loved to shop, and it had not escaped her that there was a candy store just a few blocks away. Fashion and sweets--combine those two  things in a single day, and you could make her as happy as a wren in a birdbath."

Friday 56

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"The side effects came fast and furious. There were headaches, weakness, lack of appetite, and agitation first, along with the inability to sleep. She moved into our bedroom at night, and we bought audiobooks for her to listen to while everyone else was asleep. She listened to the whole Hunger Games trilogy in the wee hours, while also playing on her iPad. I'd sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and glance over to see if she was awake, which I could detect easily by the blue glow from the screen." http://www.fredasvoice.com

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Americanah is a big saga of some sort. Does Americanah end for me? No. One more word or two or three. I have to mention Aunty and Dike. This is America from a very young boy's place in life. It shocked me. It hurt me. It tore Ifemelu apart. She will fly him over to Nigeria. His coming home to Africa, his roots, brings me to think that Ms. Adichie is saying you can go home again, but take or bring some over to visit from he states. Let them experience the joyful roller coaster ride of experiencing two very different homelands in one lifetime like Ifemelu experienced it. wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimamanda_Ngozi_Adichie

W...W...W...

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http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com I am currently reading Adultery by Paulo Coelho. The story sucked me in immediately. It's written very honestly. It seems from a woman's standpoint. I can't believe or I should believe he really understands the heart of women. I am also reading Making sense Of The Bible by David Whitehead. It's written very simply which means I can understand it. It's not hard and heavy.This weekend I want to spend time reading a cozy for the mystery challenge and a Donna Leon mystery. I definitely won't get to all of these books. Next, I need to start 'Til the Well Runs Dry by Frances Sharma. The Literary People of Color club on Goodreads is starting this one on September 1st.

Tour: The Girl Who Came Back To Life by Craig Staufenberg (Oct., 2014)

Wondrous Words

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Aquascutum "He wants to ruin my Aquascutum. It was my last birthday present from Georgiana," Emenike said hanging the jacket back behind his chair." "Aquascutum" is a UK -based luxury clothing manufacturer and retailer . In April 2012, it was sold by Jaeger to YGM Trading , a Chinese fashion retailer.(Wikipedia) Jingoistic "I found America quite jingoistic, too, when I did my fellowship training there." Adj. 1. jingoistic - fanatically patriotic               flag-waving , nationalistic , superpatriotic , ultranationalistic , chauvinistic patriotic , loyal - inspired by love for your country http:www.freedictionary.com http:www.bermudaonion.net

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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"I'd forgotten that Lagos is so expensive. I can't believe how much money the Nigerian wealthy spend....And they don't just spend  a lot, they expect to spend a lot. I met this guy the other day, and he was ...Otherwise, he said, the Nigerian wealthy would not buy. He doubled it and it worked...It's as if we are looking at an adult Nigeria that we didn't know about." Lagos lagos.com/color-quiz.php Lonely Planet   A slave port where African slaves were brought....

Teaser Tuesday

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" "The estate agent brought a man who did tiles. It took him a week and, when the estate agent called her to say that the work was done, she went eagerly to the flat. In the bathroom, she stared in disbelief. The tile edges were rough, tiny spaces gaping at the corners. One tile had an ugly crack across the middle. It looked like something done by an impatient child. "What is this nonsense? Look at how rough this is! One tile is broken! This is even worse than the old tiles! How can you be happy with this useless work?:" She asked the man...And if you want trouble, trust me, you will get it," Ifemelu said. "The first thing I will do is call the commissioner of police and they will lock you up in Alagbon Close!" ....She had surprised herself. Where had that come from, the false bravado, the easy resort to threats? http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com

The Returned by Jason Mott

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"Get up," he said. "You're dreaming." "Oh, Charles," she said, a single tear streaking down her face as she sat up. "It was terrible. Just terrible. Everyone was dead." http://fredasvoice.com

Jane Austen's First Love by Syrie James (NetGalley)

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http://rosecityreader.blogspot.com The summer of 1791 is so firmly fixed in my memory that I believe I can never forget it; every detail is as fresh and vivid as if it occurred only yesterday, and looking back, there are times when it seems as if my life never really began until that moment--the moment when I first met him.

Momma Gone by Nina Foxx

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I really enjoyed this story. The author writes that it's a mixture of memoir and fiction. Monica and Little Man are brother and sister. Their mother had many problems. She soon dies leaving the children with their father. The father cares a great deal about his kids. However, it's not hard to figure out for a man to figure out the right way to raise two children is not easy. Momma: Gone by Nina Foxx is about striving to survive after a mother and wife have passed away. It's not long before the father finds the person he thinks would make the perfect babysitter. However, living with this woman, her daughter and son is a disaster. I felt really sorry for the kids. They didn't have the voice to tell their father how they felt. It's not long before he sends them down South to their real grandmother. She is what all of us want in a grandmother. They're first morning there she cooks them bacon, grits and eggs. She loves her grandchildren deeply, and it's har

Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

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Whenever I pick up an Evanovich mystery, I expect to laugh. Plum Lovin'   proved me right. Although, I laughed more toward the end of the book than at the beginning. Matching Valentines for that February holiday seemed like boring work for Stephanie Plum. Anyway, things moved less sweetly as the book moved on but not as dangerously as I am use to while reading books in this series. In this one most of New Jersey is in the mood for love including those who have a huge fear of commitment. Albert is scared too death of walking down the aisle of a church and saying I do to a bride. I didn't know men could really be that afraid of taking wedding vows. Then, shynesss plays a part in upsetting love life too. One idea works for the butcher. He will talk about meat. As long as he talks about meat, he can talk. It's when he's not talking about beef and bacon that he loses his courage to speak to a woman who attracts him. All of it's fun. Still, I have more fun with th

WWW...W...W...W...

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http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com I recently finished Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich. . I am currently reading Momma Gone by Nina Foxx. Also, reading Making Sense of the Bible by David Whitehead.

First Chapter, First Paragraph

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       Men are like shoes. Some fit better than others. And sometimes you go out shopping and there's nothing you like. And then, as luck would have it, the next week you find both. I was currently in just such a position...not with shoes, but with men. And this morning it got worse. A while ago, a guy named Diesel showed up in my kitchen. Poof, he was there. Like magic. And then days later, poof, he was gone. Now, without warning, he was once again standing in front of me." http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com

Teaser Tuesday

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" I went to the kitchen, and I put some cat crunchies in a bowl for Kitty and some dog crunchies in a bowl for Blackie and some rabbit pellets in a bowl for Fluffy." http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com

A Cat On A Beach Blanket by Lydia Adamson

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With Pancho and Bushy, two cats, in this cozy I should have enjoyed the book. A Cat On A Beach Blanket by Lydia Adamson never really caught my interest. Since it was a short mystery, I finished it. If it were longer, I might not have bothered finishing it. After the car explosion, I lost interest. There wasn't any character in the cozy whom I loved or hated. I guess the book seemed emotionless. It didn't help matters that I never cared for the amateur sleuth, Alice Nestleton. I wanted to like her. She gives her time to house-sit in Hollandia, New York. That's such a nice thing to do for a friend. Plus, she's a New York actress. I like to read about actors and actresses. Her vocation didn't make me like her either. She talked about being attracted to Nick. That didn't make me care one way or the other. The third murder with Harry standing in front of a window about to throw a cat out didn't seem to make sense to me. Neither did the murderer

Teaser Tuesday

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"Anyway, this wouldn't really be breaking and entering, because, by tradition, no one locked his doors until the summer people arrived. And then doors were locked not because of fear of theft or mayhem but simply because the beach parties of the summer people always sent forth drunks who wandered into the wrong house by mistake." http://shouldbereading.wordpress.com

The Cat on the Beach Blanket by Lydia Adamson

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"He didn't kill her, Nick." "Then who did?" "I don't know. Why don't you let the police worry about that?" http://fredasvoice.com

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

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Like the human mind, this story travels back and forth in time. For awhile it is the 1940's. Then, the story will pick up with 1986. I like the way Jamie Ford uses time in the novel " Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Each chapter is given from a character's viewpoint. It is mind boggling that the author wrote such a small book which comes across as a huge family saga. The novel takes place during WWII. This is a very trying time in American History for Japanese families. The novel is about a Chinese family and a Japanese family whose lives intertwine for better or worse. As Henry, the Chinese boy, says, life is bitter and sweet. There is also Sheldon. Sheldon is a Black Saxaphone player. His life will  weave itself into time spent with Keiko and Henrry. I have heard it said every person has a story. That is very true in this novel. All of the people I named above have a story. The stories are weaved together so well that it is impossible for me to detach one sto

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by jamie Ford

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"Still, Henry's mother turned the radio off and on near his(the father) bed when there was a report on the fighting in the Philippines, or Iwo Jima ---each battle in the Pacific drawing a breath closer to the expected invasion of Japan itself, a daunting task since Premier Suzuki had announced that Japan would fight to the very end."

Wondrous Words

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http://bermudaonion.net filtering through the volcanic blooms-- red, gold, red--to where masked beetles gather round their furred, subsident throne.   settle, sink, and the webs shiver into view--dense, fine as a sawfly's coigned, multipicated eyes, lifted, face to face.   Quoins are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. They exist in some cases to provide actual strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble and in other ...Free Dictionary-Wikipedia. I tried my best. Not an easy word definition to find. I tried doing a patchwork of meanings. I think it means the sawfly's are supported by using an angle . If you look up this word, look up both coign and quoin. Seems like the same family to me.(:

The Trail by Ed Underwood

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Besides loving the beauty of this Southern Californian trail, I had the chance to learn an important and Godly lesson. It is one I've not put to use in my life. Well, not like Ed Underwood puts it to use in his life. This ex-fire fighter and now pastor takes a young couple named Matt and Brenda under his earthly wing and teaches them how to make an important decision in their life. The lesson will serve at this point in their life and for the rest of their lives. The lesson is really how to lean on God and less on our personal wit and wisdom. Whatever way it is worded, the lesson is how to know God's Will in life. Then, how to trust God and walk behind Him and not in front of Him. God never needs our leadership skills. We are His students. Matt and Brenda are a married couple. Each have their way of approaching God in difficult decisions. Ed Underwood, a staunch man of God, immediately sizes up the pattern of their personalities. In my eyes, Brenda seemed like the strong

Hotel On The Corner of Bitter And Sweet by Jamie Ford

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"The last time Henry had had dragon's beard candy was long before Ethel got sick. As he bit into the thread-thin strands of sugar, wrapped around a filling of grated coconut and sesame seeds, he watched Marty smile, nodding in approval--as if to say, "See, Pops, I knew you'd like her....It was delicious. "This takes years to learn to make, how did you..." http://www.instructables.com/id/Do-It-Yourself-Dragons-Beard-Candy/

Return To Love by KATHLEEN SHOOP

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Return to Love by Kathleen Shoop is a powerful novel. Return to Love is the second book in a trilogy titled Endless Love. I felt fine starting with the second novel. It can stand alone. Immediately April, Hale, Clementine and Martha became three dimensional characters. I felt as though they were neighbors in my community. The novel is about a couple who have a first child. However, that child is stillborn. Outside of the womb, the heart and lungs never reacted to stimuli. On arrival, the baby is dead. The novel is about April and Hale's pathway through grief. Sadly, April gives birth without Hale. He is on the battlefront in Vietnam. So he wasn't beside her during the birth of the baby. It is interesting the way Kathleen Shoop has chosen to tell this couple's story.  Facts about the birth of the baby and what happened to April are told little by little. Then, there are more unknowns uncovered by Hale when he visits the doctor and nurse who helped deliver the baby.