Stumbling on other people's dumbness

"I know. I'm just like a chair you stumble over in the dark." Elizabeth said. "It isn't the chair's fault, but you kick it anyhow."

Nat blinked.  "What are you talking about?"

"Your brain. It's too fast.  So you stumble on other people's dumbness.  And - you want to kick something." 

Nat felt his face get hot.  "But I shouldn't."

Elizabeth agreed.  "No you shouldn't, because even if people are dumb, they aren't chairs, are they?  They do have feelings."

Carry On Mr. Bowditch - Jean Lee Latham (pg 82-83)

Links and Posts to Ponder while I'm at Scout Expo

Norman Rockwell Painting 1944

This weekend we will be mingling with 6000 other scouts at the Scout Expo.   It will be my first time camping out in eons so I don't expect to get much sleep.  I have the princess and the pea syndrome and can feel the pebble even through a dozen mattresses. So, you can imagine how I'll do with a sleeping bag and one of those thin sleeping pads.  Tylenol is my friend.  Since the expo is being held on an Air Force Base, I've been reading all the rules and regulations that go along with that, as well as what is expected of the boys.   Interestingly enough, no electronics.  The boys have to leave all their gizmo's at home for the weekend.   James is still trying to talk me into letting him bring his nintendo DS with him so he can play it before he goes to bed.   I imagine after a day of walking, lots of activities and noise, he's going to curl up and pass out rather quickly.   I had been considering taking my Nook but maybe not.  

So while we are whooping it up with the boys scouts, here are a few links and post to ponder. 

Congratulations to Summer of And This Time, Concentrate for making it through the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  She had stuck it out and posted every single day for the month of April.

Check out Staci's post from Life in the Thumb:  I'll read what I want, When I want and Without Labels, thank you.    A Florida mom decided that the government needs to do her job and label all library books so kids know whether they are appropriate or not.  Irksome to say the least. 

Sandra started the writer's blog chain this go round with the question:

Have you ever created a character different from yourself in some significant way, such as (but not limited to) different gender, race, ethnic group, religion, or sexual orientation? If so, what, if any, research did you do to portray these differences? Was this character a main character, secondary character, or walk-on? Did these differences have an impact on the story?

Jody Hedlund's been discussing Self Editing - What is it and why we do it, plus the 3 simple stages to self edit.   Very, very helpful.   She's so wise - I like how her brain works.

Jonathan at Worlds Without End has an interesting, but mind boggling quote from James Cameron (yes, the one who directed Titanic) about science fiction literature and movies. 

On April 30th, 1789 George Washington was inaugurated as our first president of the United States.   "It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."

I'll leave you with this question to ponder:  If you were forced to give up one of your five senses, which one would you choose? Why?  

52 books in 52 weeks book challenge

Kay in Cal over at the Well Trained Mind forums proposed the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.

1. Read an average of a book a week - 52 books in 52 weeks
2. Re-reading a book counts--as long as you read it before 2009 (ie, no rereading the same book three times in a row this year).
3. School related books don't count (for me at least, if you really want to count them, there are no book-police coming to get you).
4. You can start reading on 1-1-09 at 00:00:01AM

The challenge lines up with many of the other challenges I'm doing. Susan Wise Bauer will be posting weekly on Wednesday at her blog about what she is reading and invites readers to post comments about what they are reading. I will be posting about my book of the week on Friday's. A group blog has been set up here where everyone will be able to post their reviews and comment on other peoples reads.


Happy Reading!

Book Review - The Unseen

The Unseen

By

T.L. Hines

Back cover: "Lucas is a loner, but he’s never alone. From secret hiding places, he peers into the lives of others—watching them while they work, while they commute, while they sip their morning coffee. He is the master at remaining silent and unseen in his carefully constructed world as an invisible observer. But when a chance encounter turns the tables, the watcher becomes the watched. Caught up in an escalating series of events he is powerless to stop, Lucas discovers an underground organization with a chilling mission. Anyone can be watched. No one is safe. And the most terrifying secrets of all remain unseen. Until now."

The Unseen is about a man who likes to watch others invisibly from hidden caches in offices, elevators and closets. He like to watch people and make up imaginary stories about what he thinks their lives are like. He lives where ever he likes in abandoned steam tunnels, or vacant offices in office buildings. He eats left over or abandoned lunches from break room refrigerators and wears clothes from goodwill. He doesn't pay rent, buy food or clothing. He has managed to save several thousand dollars working under the table jobs for cash. He lives under the radar, unnoticed and unseen.

Until one day he runs into a ‘creeper’. Someone who likes to explore tunnels and authorized employee only areas, take pictures and leave their mark proving they were there. Douglas is part of the Creep Club, a group who like Lucas, like to watch. However, Lucas only watches people in public places. These people enter into private homes, film the activities of their lives and share the films with the club. Douglas invites Lucas to a meeting and he is turned off by their voyeuristic attitudes especially when they do nothing to help the people they watch. Two of the videos reveal a man whom his wife and partner want to kill off, another a woman who is being abused by her husband.

Lucas decides to be a good Samaritan and try the help the people in the videos, but once he does his life is no longer his own. Now someone is watching him and he’s drawn into a world of murder, dark plots and secrets. I can’t say more without giving away spoilers, but suffice it to say, with all the twists and turns, the story and characters will keep you fascinated to the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed this ‘noir bizarre’ story by T.L. Hines.

Thomas Nelson Publishing
Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger

Sunday Salon

Sunday Salon

I just finished reading T.L. Hines "The Unseen". He is a writer of 'noir bizarre' stories and this story was quite bizarre. Really made you think and I'll have to give it some time to sink in before I write a review. I also finished "Smoke In Mirrors" by Jayne Ann Krentz this week. I'm caught up with all my reviews and resolved for the new year to write a review after finishing a book and before I start a new one. After all, I was telling my husband and son last night "finish one thing, before you start another."That way I won't get backlogged. However, I really don't feel like I did the review on Smoke in Mirrors justice because my mind was on other things this week.

I've been reviewing homeschool curriculum looking to make some changes. Which is another post for another time. But while perusing 'Well Trained Mind' ( which is a guide to classical education at home) it brought to mind Susan Wise Bauer's other book 'Well Educated Mind'. Of course, that lead to thinking about all the books I've been reading, the book challenges I'm involved in and challenging myself to read better books.

Which served to remind me of my original intention to follow the book lists in The Well Educated Mind. Yes, my mind goes in convuluted circles sometimes.


Susan wrote the book as a guide to the Classical Education you never had. I purchased the book back in 2005 and read it cover to cover. She outlines how to read a book from the standpoint of the grammar, logic and rhetoric stages. Read, think and formulate your opinion of what the story means to you. She recommends keeping a journal and outlining the story as you read.


Included in the book are her suggestions of great books to read from 5 genres: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama and Poetry. The books are listed chronilogically and she suggests reading them in order. The genres are broken down into 5 chapters with an detail explanation how to read them and a synposis is included on each title with the best edition to read.

For example the first 5 books in Fiction are:

Don Quixote
Pilgrims Progress
Gulliver's Travels
Price and Prejudice
Oliver Twist

The first 5 books in Autobiography are:

Augustine 'The Confessions'
Margery Kemp - "The book of Margery Kemp"
Michael De Montaigne - 'Essays'
Teresa of Avila - 'Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself'
Rene Descartes - 'Meditations'

The first five books in History:

Herodotus: 'The Histories'
Thucydides: 'The Peloponnesian War'
Plate:'The Republic'
Plutarch: 'Lives'
Augustine: 'The City of God'

The first five books in Drama:

Aeschylus: 'Agamemmon'
Sophocles: 'Oedipus the King'
Euripides: 'Medea'
Aristophanes: 'The Birds'
Aristotle: 'Poetics'

The First Five books in Poetry

The Epic of Gilgamesh
Homer 'The Iliad and the Odyssey'
'Greek Lyrics'
Horace 'Odes'
Beowulf

The examples give you a good idea of the books and the chronology. I went over the lists yesterday and found I had read a few of the fiction books and currently have a few on my TBR list. And it made me realize why I had bought 'Confessions' and 'The Life of Saint Teresa'. We have the Iliad and Beowulf in the bookshelves... somewhere.

I had originally started by reading the first fiction book Don Quixote and it took me a while to read it using her method of 30 minutes a day and journaling as you go. I decided that wasn't going to work for me and read it like I would any normal book. Found I read the classics a bit more slowly than regular fiction, because of the way they are written and it takes a bit more brain time to absorb and understand. Exercising the brain, which is a good thing. Which brings me back to my original point that the book challenges reminded me of my original decision to work my way through the lists.


I decided to set a personal, perpetual challenge to read at least one book from each genre each year. Whether I read them in chronological order or not, is another story. I may add or subtract to Susan's list of books that I am interested in reading. Even she admits in the book that the list is biased and reflect her interests. The lists don't include all the greatest books in each genre but are meant to introduce you to each area of thought (pg 51)

I'll put a list of books completed in each category in the sidebar and update it as time goes on. I currently have on my TBR pile from the Fiction list: Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Tolstoys's Anna Karenina and Wharton's The House of Mirth. I'll have to decide what going to read from the other genre's. Poetry and Drama will be the hardest for me, but we have an overabundance of Shakespeare books which we inherited from Father's mom. All the books will cross over into the other challenges I'm involved in, so I'm not really adding all that much.

Changing the page, I made up a list of all the books read for the year. Found that I did read over 100 books after all. I started inputting and importing the lists from Amazon over to LibraryThing. I don't know why I didn't start using LibraryThing a long time ago.

Well, I've procrastinated long enough... It's time to do a major oven cleaning. Then I have to work up lessons for next week and go grocery shopping.

Winter Reading Challenge begins

Happy Winter solstice to you!

December 21st marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. As the days grow shorter and colder, the nights longer, it is a perfect time to curl up by the fire with a hot cup of tea and a good book. I have so many books in my To Be Read pile that I decided to continue on with a seasonal challenge.

The Winter Reading Challenge runs from December 21st, 2008 through March 20, 2009. There are 13 weeks in Winter and I will probably end up reading one to two books per week. Some of the books may cross over into challenges that begin 2009.

This is going to be a very casual challenge much like the Fall Reading Challenge, so please join me.

The rules are very flexible:

1) Choose any number of books you would like to read and post them on your blog.

2) They can be fiction and/or nonfiction including e-books and audiobooks

3) They can overlap with other challenges.

4) Sign up on Mr. Linky. I'm still trying to figure out Mr. Linky so will let you guys post your links yourselves when you have your lists ready.

5) In a few days, I set up a link where you can post links to your book reviews






What I will be reading:

The Unseen by T.L. Hines - Christian suspense thriller

Hercules Poirot Christmas - An Agatha Christie Mystery

Wicked - Fractured fairy tale by Gregory Maguire about the wicked witch of the west. First time author read.

Magyk - A young adult fantasy novel and the first in Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. First time author read.

The Bone Garden - Murder mystery by Tess Gerritsen

Unspeakable - Romantic suspense novel by Sandra Brown

Split Second - Murder mystery by David Baldacci

A Ghost in the Machine - British mystery by Caroline Graham

Life of Pi - a existential journey by Yann Martel

A is for Alibi (Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Mysteries) - the first in the alphabet series by Sue Grafton about a female detective. First time author read.

Hot Mahogany - another Stone Barrington mystery by Stuart Woods

If There Be Dragons - paranormal romance by Kay Hooper and first time author read.

Destiny Kills - another paranormal romance by Keri Arthur and first time author read.

Five in a Row - romantic suspense by Jan Coffey and first time author read.

Salvation in Death - 27th crime thriller featuring Eve Dallas by J.D. Robb

Prey for a Miracle (a Sister Agatha Mystery) - Cozy mystery by Aimee Thurlo

Edited to add

Bad Faith by Aimee Thurlo

Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader by Joe Hilley. I'm curious and sure she isn't going to disappear into the wood work.


Here is the link for posting reviews. Save it for future use and I will be putting a link on the sidebar under the Winter Reading Challenge picture.

Happy reading!

Book Review - Open Season

Open Season

By

Linda Howard

Linda Howard has become one of my favorite writers. Her novels are all unique and Open Season certainly is. Daisy Minor, the main female character had me giggling throughout most of the book. When I first read the back cover, I wasn't sure what to expect from this story.

Back Cover: "Be careful what you wish for.... On her thirty-fourth birthday, Daisy Minor decides to make over her entire life. The small town librarian has had it with her boring clothes, her ordinary looks, and nearly a decade without so much as a date. It's time to get a life---and a sex life. The perennial good girl, transforms herself into a party girl extraordinaire---dancing the night away at clubs, laughing and flirting with abandon--and she's declared open season for manhunting. But her free spirited fun turns to shattering danger when she witnesses something she shouldn't--and becomes the target of a killer. Now, before she can meet the one one who can share her life, first she may need him to save it."

Don't let the description fool you. Daisy doesn't go crazy and slutty, not at all. She is the stereotypical straight laced small town librarian with the white shirt, straight black skirts, no make up, straight drab hair and lives with her mother and aunt. She wakes up on her 34th birthday and decides her hair is drab, her clothes are drab and her life is drab. She also doesn't want to end up living the rest of her life alone. She decides the fastest way is a make over into a "party girl" Her mother and aunt are enthusiastic about her making changes and support her not only getting a make over, but moving out on her own.

Meanwhile, the bad guys are in town and frequenting the local bars. Enter Jack Russo, the new Chief of Police. Since no one in town knows him really well, he goes undercover in the Buffalo club to see if he can catch the bad guy who's been lacing drinks with date rape drugs.

Prior to Daisy's make over, He and Daisy seem to constantly butt heads every time they meet. Their encounters are humorous. When Daisy gets her make over and proceeds to go out on the town, Jack decides to stick close thinking she is too naive and needs protection. Daisy innocently manages to start a bar fight every time she goes into the bar and Jack is there to get her out of trouble.

Daisy doesn't want him saving her and wants him to get out of her way, so she can find a man. Jack decides he wants to be that man. The repartee between Jack and Daisy is hilarious and leaves you laughing. Mixed in with the humor is the element of danger involving murder and an illegal sex trade operation involving teenage mexican and russian girls, and undercover cops.

Open season was an entertaining, enjoyable read and highly recommended.

Book Reviews - Smoke and Mirrors / Dark LIght

Just finished two interesting books by Jayne Ann Krentz which are as different as night and day.


Smoke and Mirrors is a romantic suspense novel




Front Flap: "A con artist and seductress, Meredith Spooner lived fast and died young. But her final scam--embezzling more than a million dollars from a college endowment fund--is coming back to haunt Leonora Hutton. The tainted money is stashed away in an offshore account for Leonora. And while she wants nothing to do with the cash, she discover two other items in the safe deposit box: a book about Mirror House--the place were Meredith engineered her final deception--and a set of newpaper storeis about an unsolved murder that occured there thirty years ago. Now Leonara has an offer for Thomas Walker, another victim of Meredith's scams and seductions. She'll hand over the money--if he helps her figure out what's going on. Meredith had described Thomas as "a man you can trust." But in a fun house mirror world of illusion and distortion Leonara may be out of her league."


Dark Light written under her pseudonym Jayne Castle
which is book 5 in her Ghost Hunter series. I'm not quit sure why I jumped in at this point, but will certainly go back and read the rest of the series. The story is a futuristic, paranormal romance and quite interesting.




Back cover: "Everything is different underground. Just ask the residents of Harmony, a futuristic world where alien catacombs can lead you astray--and where psychic senses spark out of this world passion. Reporter Sierra McIntyre's stories on Crystal City's ghost hunters--and their mysterious guild--have earned her tabloid a bit of respect. And they've allowed her to clothe her dust bunny companion Elvis, in rock and roll style. It helps that she has mega rez intuition to fall back on. Especially when she interviews Ghost Hunter Guild boss John Fontana about the disappearances of retired, homeless hunters. She doesn't want to trust the physically and psychically powerful man. But her senses--and Elvis--give her the green light. To uncover the conspiracy within his own organization, Fontana proposes... marriage. And though it's purely a business arrangement, there nothing pure about the attraction that sizzles between them."

Both books are very well done and enjoyable reads. They are both very different stories with interesting characters. Whereas Smoke in Mirrors is a suspenseful romance set in a small foggy town called Wing Cove bordering Puget Sound, Dark Light is set on another planet called Harmony. Krentz has done a good job of creating characters with distinct voices in each story.

Musing Mondays - Books for Christmas

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about Christmas book buying…

In these last few days before Christmas, I'm sure there are plenty of us scrambling to get our last minute shopping done. Are you buying any books for friends or family (or even yourself)? Do you expect to recieve any bookish gifts from others - books, or book-related?

Since all members of our families have already received their gifts via Amazon and UPS, I can answer. Yes, I did buy everyone books for Christmas except for James and Father. Father had a few specific requests like a looj robot gutter cleaner or Nikon camera lenses or a gold bar. James had a list of 42 things from Godzilla movies to Wall-E toys to a Wii. I think they will both be very happy this year, but I have to keep it a secret until Christmas day.

I had a blast picking out books for everyone. Thanks to all you wonderful book bloggers I had a wonderful new assortment to choose from. The majority of books are ones I had read or on my TBR pile waiting to be read or on my Amazon wishlist. It made a difference to my nephew that I had actually read the book I sent him and his sisters and it just wasn't a random 'here you go' book.

Yes, I do expect to receive books for Christmas. I already know Father has gotten me several that will be from him and James. He hasn't been out of the house since he broke his leg, so pointed him in the direction of my Amazon wishlist and let him have at it. My folks sent a check which I applied toward the big family gift for us. I don't know what the rest of my family will be choosing this year. They sometimes balk at buying me more books just because I already have so many. But what else do you buy for a bibliophile, but books and bookish things. :)

Book Review - You Can't Hide

You Can't Hide

by

Karen Rose

Karen Rose is one of my favorite authors. Her novels are very suspenseful and chilling. You have to be in the mood to read one of her stories. They grip you from beginning to end.


Back cover: Terror has forever changed the life of psychiatrist Tess Ciccotelli. Someone is tormenting her patients, pushing them to commit suicide, and setting her up to take the blame. But Tess can't break her oath to protect her patients' privacy at all costs. Even when detective Aidan Reagan demands a list of everyone she's treating. Even when the mounting damage threatens Tess herself. Aidan doesn't like anyone who stalls his cases. Still, he can't help but admire Tess's fierce loyalty to her patients, especially when it becomes clear that a nameless, faceless enemy is set on destroying her career, her family, and, finally, Tess herself. As Aidan's heart softens, the killer's will hardens, and one thing becomes clear---the noose is tightening around Tess's neck.

Tess receives a call in the middle of the night supposedly from one of her patient's neighbors saying her patient is about to kill herself by jumping off a balcony. She gets there too late, not realizing her patient is already dead. The police think she is responsible for her patient's death. Tess's fingerprints are found all over the place, including some prescription pill bottles. However, Tess has never been to her patient's home. Someone is trying to set Tess up, but for what.


As more patients die, supposedly by her hand, Tess fights for her life. She starts to work side by side with Aidan, the detective who hates her for declaring a murderer of a young child, insane and incompent to stand trial. Aidan had been the one to discover the child and Tess's actions in court years before angered him. Little does he know what she has suffered since that time. Aidan begins to discover the truth about Tess and begins to believe in her innocence.


I can't write anymore without giving away spoilers about the book. You Can't Hide is very suspenseful, because you just don't know who is stalking Tess and setting her up. Is it a current or former patient, an enemy from the police force, a friend or someone she loves? You'll be kept guessing until the very end. Highly recommended.


514 pages

Grand Central Publishing


Available on Amazon.com or at your local bookstores.

Book Review - Head On

Head On

By

Colleen Thompson

Back cover: The full moon brings out the crazies; anyone in emergency services knows that. But for hospice nurse Beth Ann Decker, the gruesome murder that rocks Hatcher County is shockingly unexpected. As is the return of the Texas community's most hate prodigal son--Mark Jessup. Sixteen years before, the town's bad boy was behind the wheel of a pickup that left three cheerleaders dead and Beth Ann so badly injure that people whispered she'd have been better off in the grave with them. Jessup is all man now--tough, uncompromising, rich--and a possible suspect in this new killing. Beth Ann knows he's the last person she should be spending time with, especially when a nighttime intruder makes it clear she herself is a targer. But in Mark's heated gaze, Beth Ann sees something a lot more exciting than pity. No matter how dangerous the road ahead, she's dead set on meeting life, and love....

In a small rural town of Hatcher County, Texas Beth Ann is a hospice nurse and caring for Mark's father, Hiram Jessup who is dying. Mark returns to town to be with his father during his last days, despite the fact Hiram doesn't want him around. Mark was responsible for the death of his own sister and two other girls, plus seriously injuring Beth Ann in a drag race gone bad when he was 18 years old. To add fuel to the fire, Mark brings his 4 year old son with him who is part african-american. Emotions run high as small town politics reveal Mark may not have been totally responsible for the accident and someone has been covering up for someone else all these years. Add to that the death of Beth Ann's mother in a gruesome murder and you have the makings of an interesting murder mystery thriller.

There are many twists and turns and the killer is someone they never suspected. I enjoyed this book - it wasn't as full of the old high school angst as in Traceless by Debra Webb that I had previously read. The characters had evolved and decided to move on with their lives and not stuck in the high school drama stage. Head On is another first time author discovery and I will probably read more of her works.

Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program

Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program

This is neat. I heard about the book review program a few days ago from Semicolon. Thomas Nelson publishes fiction and non fiction christian books and they have come up with a program to get their books reviewed. In exchange for sending you one of their books free, you must agree to read the book and post a review of 200 words on your blog and one of the online bookstores such as christianbooks.com or Amazon.com. The review can be positive or negative as long as it is based on reading the entire book.

How cool is that. I signed up and there are several different categories of books: Bibles, biblical reference, business and culture, children's, family entertainment, fiction, general interests and lifestyles, practical living, spiritual growth and young adult.

I picked out my first book from a variety of choices and received it yesterday.

The Unseen by T.L. Hine. It sounded like a very interesting book and will be the first time reading anything by this author. I read an excerpt of it on Amazon and it sparked my interest. I will be reading it as soon as I finish my current read, then posting a review.

Booking Through Thursday - giving books as gifts

Booking Through Thursday asks:


Do you give books as gifts? To everyone? Or only to select people? How do you feel about receiving books as gifts?

Yes I do give books as gifts but not to everyone. If I know someone isn't a reader, I won't send or give them any books. They wouldn't appreciate it. Both Father and I come from a family of readers: I know what everybody likes to read and send them books in those genre's. Both my dad and father's dad only read non fiction, my brother and sister in law love science fiction, one sister reads mainly christian fiction, etc, etc, etc. They don't necessarily like books for every gift so I honor that.

But for this Christmas....



The surprise will be what books they get. Thanks to all the book bloggers out there in internet land, I've discovered a whole new array of stories.

I love receiving books as gifts. Since father can't go out shopping right now, I sat him down at the computer a couple nights ago, signed him into my private amazon wish list. He was concerned about buying something someone else had already chosen to buy me for a gift. I solved that by setting up a public gift list and private wish list.

I left him to it and kept hearing an evil cackling coming from the kitchen. He yells out to me. "Dear, what's the longest book ever written, the one with the most pages?"

Huh? He really can't keep a secret. So I guess I'll be receiving a really long book. Any guesses as to what that might be?"

Book Review - Flashback

Flashback

By

Cait London

Back Cover: "Sexy Kyle Scanlon has always been a thorn in Rachel Everly's side, and his one goal in life seems to be tormenting her. Years ago, he came riding into town, opened up his mechanics shop, and went on to tempt every woman in Neptune's Landing, including Rachel's own sister, Mallory, whose tragic death Rachel has returned to sleuth out. Who was the monster leading her sister to destruction? All evidence points to Kyle, the one man Rachel would like to extract from her life. Rachel is certain he is responsible for Mallory's downfall, and she's determined to prove it -- even as she is drawn to the mysterious, dangerous man. But what if she is wrong? What if the secrets Mallory took to her grave, and the surprising clues she seems to give now, are darker than Rachel ever imagined? What if there is a different monster hiding in the shadows waiting to strike again? And could it be that Kyle Scanlon is the man who will save her?"

Mallory was once a foster child, unhappy and unloved. Twelve year old Rachel talks her single mother into taking in Mallory whom she befriended from school. The mother of two agrees and the girls grow up together and eventually grow apart. Twenty years later Rachel finds herself returning to their hometown of Neptune's Landing for Mallory's funeral. Mallory's life had taken a downturn and she committed suicide, leaving Nine Balls, a pool hall for women and teens to Rachel. Rachel moves in to Mallory's old apartment and discovers several mysterious clues telling a tale of deceit and treachery. Rachel is angry with Kyle Scanlon whom she felt should have done something. He reveals there were many secrets in Mallory's life and no matter how much he had tried, there wasn't anything he could do. There was a dark presence in Mallory's life and now it is after Rachel. Together Rachel and Kyle try to solve the mysteries left by Mallory, even though Kyle rubs Rachel the wrong way and they continually clash.

Flashback is a very good suspense novel with many twists and turns. It will keep you guessing. Cait London is a new author discovery for me. I first discovered her when I was introduced to the first book in her Psychic Triplet Series "At the Edge." The 2nd book is "A Stranger's Touch" and the 3rd book is "For Her Eyes Only." I haven't read the third book yet, but it is in the TBR pile ready and waiting. I thoroughly enjoy her writing and look forward to reading more of her works.

416 Pages
Avon Publishing

Check out her website at www.caitlondon.com

Book Review - Pagan Stone

Pagan Stone

by

Nora Roberts

Pagan Stone is the third and final book in the Sign of Seven Trilogy, a paranormal romance by Nora Roberts.

Book synopsis insert: "Years ago, after their blood brother ritual, Gage, Fox and Caleb emerged from the woods, each with a piece of bloodstone. Now, it will become their weapon in the final flight against the demon they awakened. Winner take all. Shared nightmares, visions of blood and fire, and random violence plague the longtime friends and Quinn, Layla, and Cybil, the women bound to them by Fate. None of them can ignore the fact that, this year, the demon has grown stronger--feeding off the terror it creates. But now the three pieces of the bloodstone have been fused back together. If only they could figure out how to use it. A gambling man like Gage has no trouble betting on his crew to find a way. And though he and Cybil share the gift of seeing the future, that's all they have in common. Were they to take their flirtation to the next level, it would be on their own terms, not because Fate decreed it. But Gage knows that a woman like Cybil--with her brains and strength and devastating beauty--can only bring him luck. Whether it's good or bad has yet to be determined--and could mean the difference between absolute destruction or an end to the nightmare in Hawkins Hollow."

Gage, Caleb and Fox are best friends and were born the same day and year and time. Gage would do anything for his two friends. They camped out on their 10th birthday at the Pagan stone in Hawkins Wood. They decided to become Blood brothers and the minute they mixed their blood, all hell broke lose. A black shadow rose out of the ground along with a blinding white light. But when the fury was over, all three of the boys discovered they no longer carried any scares from previous injuries and they each carried a piece of a bloodstone. They found that they healed spontaneously from any injury sustained after that. But every seven years for seven days after their tenth birthday, violence and madness descended on Hawkins Hollow. The men are determined to find an answer to stop the demon and stop the madness that no one in town seems to remember.

The story follows the third couple in the series - Gage Turner and Cybil Kinski. Gage is a gambler and likes to move around from game to game, returning to Hawkins Hollow only when necessary, every seven years. Cybil is Quinn's best friend and likes to travel as well. She doesn't like to stay in one place too long. She came to town to help Quinn. Both she and Gage fight any attraction they have because they both don't want to be controlled by anyone or anything. The three couples work together to discover a way to destroy the demon and free Hawkins Hollow from the curse.

'Pagan stone' was an enjoyable read for me and highly recommended. It is every bit as good as the first two books - 'Blood Brothers' and 'The Hollows.' It isn't a stand alone book and you will have to read the other two books first in order to follow the story line.

Jove Publishing
336 pages

Available everywhere including Turn the Page Bookstore Cafe owned and run by Bruce Wilder, Nora Roberts husband. You can have every Nora Roberts book you order from them autographed by Nora.

Pagan Stone is my final book in The Fall Reading Challenge hosted by Callapidder Day's. I'll be posting a wrap up about the challenge soon. On December 22nd, Katrina will be putting up Mr. Linky so everyone who participated can link to their final challenge posts. Check out what the other participants have been reading and how they did in the challenge.

Musing Mondays - Reading on the Go

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading on the go…

I always like to have a book with me at all times – call it a nerdy grown-up security blanket – and rarely do I leave the house without slipping one into my bag (even if I KNOW I’m not going to have a chance to read it). Do you take a book with you? Do you take whatever book you’re currently reading, or do you have a special on-the-go book? And do you have a preference for a these types of book (paperback, hardback; short stories; poetry etc)?


I used to take a book with me everywhere but now I will only take a book with me when I know there will be some down time or waiting time in which I'll have time to read. Such as lunch or dinner break when working at our shop or when have to wait alone at the doctor's office. Someplace you know you are going to have to wait. Except I don't take a book and read with James or Father along. They like my undivided attention. When I do take a book it's the one currently reading. I tried the 'on the go' book and it just didn't work well for me. I'd forget what had happened previously and have to backtrack. So I grab my current read and put it in my purse. I prefer paperbacks because they are more portable. Novels are my favorite.

When we are traveling on vacation or for business or visiting relatives overnight, a book or two is an absolute must. Have you ever been stuck on a plane for a few hours without a good book -- the flight seems to last an eternity.

It now strikes me that there have been quite a few times I've been stuck somewhere without a book and I really could have used one. I'm going to have to rethink this and perhaps start putting my current read in my purse whenever leaving the house.

Well Educated Mind Challenge

Well Educated Mind Book list

Fiction

1. Don Quixote
2. Pilgrims Progress
3. Gulliver's Travels
4. Jane Eyre
5. Huckleberry Finn
6. Red Badge of Courage
7. Heart of Darkness
8. 1984
9. Street Car named Desire
   

Autobiography and Memoir

1. .

Historians and Politicians

1. .

Drama

1. Romeo and Juliet

Poetry

1. .

Writing Challenges and Goals

During National Novel Write Month,several writing moms, including me, over at Well Trained Mind formed an online social group. After Nano ended, we decided to continue as a creative writing group to provide support and encouragement. The group is called WLyHiOf which is short for "Writing Like Your Hair Is On Fire'. We have been discussing our writing goals for next year and I made a few decisions regarding mine.

The major part of the goal will come from novel writing. Right now, my goal is 1000 words a day while working on Winter's Illusion. Some days I go over and some days under. So I expect however much I write, it will average out to 1000 a day. Also, my college courses require lots of essays for which you have to be really creative. If its just a regurgitation of facts, I won't include. And let's just add a miscellaneous category, because you never know what may come up. Should I be tempted at some point to try my hand at a magazine writing contest, I'll include it.

My writing goals for 2009

Write 365,000 words for the year
Finish and edit current work in progress - Winter's Illusion
Edit and complete 2007 Nano novel - Floating on the Surface
NaNoWriMo 2009 - Already have a good idea for a story
College Essays
Miscellaneous

It sounds rather ambitious with everything else we have going on, but I think I can do it. As long as I am organized, diligent and take advantage of the time I have, it will work out. I'm going to post a goal meter on the side bar to keep track of my writing, plus give myself some accountability.

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart " - William Wordsworth

Booking Through Thursday - time to read

Time is of the Essence

1. Do you get to read as much as you WANT to read?

(I’m guessing #1 is an easy question for everyone?)

2. If you had (magically) more time to read–what would you read? Something educational? Classic? Comfort Reading? Escapism? Magazines?

I'd have to say Yes. I do get to read as much as I want. Reading is so much a part of our lives and always has been. I've been known to get grumpy if I don't get my reading time.

If I magically had even more time to read, I would read more classical books. I generally read for relaxation, escapism. Occasionally, I'll wade into a classic, but they take so much more time to absorb, that I read more slowly. A couple years ago, I bought Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. The book gives a brief history of five genres - fiction, autobiography, history, drama and poetry and includes a list of 'great books' to read out of each category and how to read them. I found I had already read quite a few over the years such as Pilgrims Progress, Heart of Darkness and Jane Eyre.

I decided I would work my way through the list of books in each genre and I started with Fiction and Don Quixote and think that's about as far as I got. There are others on the list I want to read that we have on our bookshelves: Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Dostoyesky's Crime and Punishment, Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby, Augustine's The Confessions and Merton's Seven Story Mountain. So thanks to this question, I just decided to join Should Be Readings Casual Classic's book challenge for 2009 which is simply read 4 classic book between January and December. I can do that.

I am magically making more time to read for 2009. How about you?

Book Review - Traceless

Traceless

By

Debra Webb

Back Cover: She's in Search of Justice. Emily Wallace has no doubt about who killed her best friend ten years ago: Clint Austin, the town bad boy. The key witness in his trail, Emily put Clint behind bars with her tearful testimony. But when Emily learns that Clint has been released on parole, she returns to her Alabama hometown to confront him--and make sure he never forgets the damage he has done.



He is dead-set on revenge. After serving ten years for a crime he didn't commit, Clint knows only the truth can set him free. Ignoring warnings from his old friend, now the chief of police, Clint will let no one stand in his way as he tries to prove his innocence--including Emily, the girl he once loved. Prison has made him a hard man, yet he yearns from Emily...and he can see in her eyes that, in spite of herself, she feels the same. But even if he can convince her to trust him, it might be too late to clear his name--before the real killer strikes again."

Traceless is a first time read of anything by this author for me. While the writing is excellent, the main characters grated on my nerves. Both Emily and Clint are emotionally driven in everything they did and I would have to say it was also an age related thing. Both characters are in their twenties and stunted by the actions that happened ten years prior. The story was interesting enough to make me want to finish it and I ended up skimming through a lot of it, just to find out who is the real killer. It will surprise you.

Traceless is full of small town politics and justice, cover ups and soap opera drama of whose sleeping with who. The love scenes between Emily and Clint were just strange considering the drama that drives these two together. I really can't say the story was bad with all its twists and turns. Just that the twenty something, still stuck on high school happenings drama isn't for me.

I'll have to try another one of Webb's books because I did like her writing style. Faceless looks good so putting it on my amazon wishlist for when I've whittled down my TBR pile a bit.

Publisher: St. Martin Paperbacks
Pages: 352
Available on Amazon.com