Book Your Ticket

April reads?  It's been an interesting month!

• Inventing the Israelite: Jewish Fiction in Nineteeth Century France, Maurice Samuels (history, culture, literature)*
• Spouse Trap, Cynthia Hamilton (detective, thriller)
• Sweet Water, Christina Baker Kline (fiction, cozy)
• The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef, Marco Pierre White with James Steen (autobiography, food, history)*
• A Good and Useful Hurt, Aric Davis (paranormal, thriller, tattoos)*
• Billionaire's Apprentice, Chase Carroway (thriller, romance)
• Aloha Also Means Goodbye, Jessica Rosenberg (romance)
• Doppelgänger, Chuck Driskell (WWII, espionage, thriller)*
• Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies, J.B. West with Mary Lynn Kotz(autobiography, history)*
• The Stuff that Never Happened, Maddie Dawson (fiction, chick lit)
• Finding Sarah, Terry Odell (detective, thriller)
• Taking Flight, Adrian R. Magnus (fiction, aging)*
• Beneath the Patchwork Moon, Alison Kent (chick lit, romance)
• Someone's Daughter: In Search of Justice for Jane Doe, Silvia Pettem (true crime)*
• Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's; John Elder Robison (autobiography, autism)*
• Raising Cubby:  A Father and Son's Adventures with Asperger's, Trains, Tractors, and High Explosives, John Elder Robison (autobiography, autism)*
• Nursing a Grudge: A Maternal Instincts Mystery, Diana Orgain (mystery)
• Opposites Attack: A Novel with Recipes Provencal, Jo Maeder (chick lit, culture, food)
• Louisiana Bigshot, Julie Smith (mystery, humor)
• Crazy Love, Michelle Pace (chick lit, romance)
• Blue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society Jubilee, Carolyn Brown (cozy, humor)
• The Man in the Window, Jon Cohen and Nancy Pearl (fiction, disabilities)*
• Hearts in Motion, Edie Ramer (romance, animals)
• Deadly Stillwater, Roger Stelljes (thriller)
• How to Survive Your Sisters, Ellie Campbell (chick lit, family)
• The Guestbook, Holly Martin (romance, humor)
• The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion, Fannie Flagg (fiction, history, WWII, humor)*
• The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson (screwball fiction, culture, Sweden)*
• The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs, Nick Trout (fiction, animals)
• An Unlikely Witch, Debora Geary (fantasy fiction, romance, cozy)
• Burning Girls, Veronica Schanoes (fanasy fiction, culture, history)*
• Room 702: 1 Year, 1 Room, Many Stories, Ann Benjamin (fiction, cozy)*
• Back on Blossom Street, Debbie Macomber (fiction, chick lit, cozy)

There's some pretty awesome stuff in there, actually.  Especially the ones with the "*".

TGI... E???

I had not a clue that Ender's Game was being made into a movie.  (I just had a nerd-gasm of earth-shattering proportion...)

Sing Along

In a sad book centered a little British girl dying of cancer was a reference to "Ging Gang Goolie."  Of course, I had to look it up:



Since I'm now stuck with an ear worm from hell, I thought I'd share it with you.

Whoa, Nelly!

What happens when I get half way to the train station and realize I've left both my phone AND my Kindle* sitting at home... and I have NOTHING to read?



Yes, indeedy.
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*Love, love, LOVE my Kindle Paperwhite.  Much lighter in weight, adjustable brightness, easy-to-use finger swiping, readable in any light and without the other apps I wasn't using anyway on my Kindle Fire.  If you just want an e-reader, this is absolutely the one for you.

Quick Stop

Suzette has also ordered the latest Robert Caro biography in the Lyndon Johnson series:

My note to her:

"I wonder if George R.R. Martin is Robert Caro in disguise. After all, they both write about politics, power and characters who display both noble and ignoble characteristics. And they both take for freaking evah to write the next volume of a series.  Hmmmm...."

For those in the know, which one of them said this?

"Nobody believes this, but I write very fast."

Okay, after you've picked yourself up off of the floor and stopped laughing, go here to see.  But really, it could have been either one of them.

Drive-Bys

Got a Kindle and want to remove books from the archive permanently?  Here's how.  Good to know!
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I'm currently reading...

... so I found this column by Eric Zorn of great interest:

The schools are public. The funds to be spent are public. On one side of the table is a public body. Why shouldn't the public have a seat at that table, if only to listen in through the media to the offers and counter-offers?

Negotiating a contract of this dimension is a major governmental act — far more significant than many of the twists of the statutory knob that must, by law, be performed by legislative bodies at open meetings.

Closed doors are antithetical to democracy. Our traditions tell us that public oversight and input not only help keep officials honest, but also aid them in their quest to represent the will of the people (assuming that is their quest).

In the case of teachers union negotiations, parents are major stakeholders — even more so than most taxpayers — yet are totally shut out of the process until the parties emerge from marathon bargaining sessions brandishing a settlement.

I don't always see eye-to-eye with Zorn, but on this topic he's bang on the money.  Go read the whole thing.  And then go buy this book.  It's guaranteed to set your hair on fire!
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Giggle of the Day:

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Ear Worm of the Day:

Drive-Bys

When you laugh in the face of the Fates...

Diner suffers cardiac arrest while eating a Triple Bypass Burger in restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill

... the one named Karma can be the biggest bitch of all.
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So that's why I re-read my faves over and over again:

The first time people read - or watch - through, they are focused on events and stories.

The second time through, the repeated experience reignites the emotions caused by the book or film, and allows people to savour those emotions at leisure.

George R.R. Martin, Nancy Atherton, Jacqueline Carey, Karen Miller, Gary Jennings, Janet Evanovich (books 1-10, anyway), and many, many more are all old and dear friends of mine.
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Today's Chicago Tribune advocates discussing problems with your neighbors before calling in the police: 

Calling the cops almost has become a default solution, one that's not especially productive.

"No one likes having the police called on them," said Will Reimers, a neighborhood contact officer with the Boise (Idaho) Police Department. "Oftentimes that makes things worse, when suddenly police show up and start talking to you. People resent that. So it's not the best first step."

What is the best first step? Try talking to each other.

"It seems today that talking to your neighbors is something that has fallen out of fashion," Reimers said. "It's just not done as much anymore. But it's an old technique that should be resurrected."

Which all sounds good until you realize that today's Daily Mail illustrates the flip side of that solution:

Franklin Santana, 47, allegedly went to his neighbour's home in the Tacony region of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to complain about his dogs.

The neighbour, Tyrirk Harris, 27, was licensed to carry a gun and had it in a holster as the two talked on the front porch on Tuesday, police said.

‘I (saw) them arguing, then from there a little scuffle,’ neighbour Miguel Rivera told the Philadelphia Daily News. ‘Then I heard the shots.’

Mr Santana was found dead outside the Torresdale Avenue home after confronting Harris about the mess constantly left by his dogs, police said.

I'd say you really need to pick your battles -- and you might want to let the police handle the ones that involve an armed and angry neighbor after all.

Tootin' the Horn

The best bosses in the whole wide world strike again! I am a lucky, lucky person to work with such generous guys.

Drive-Bys

This just beggars belief:



As does this:


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For those of you torn between the new Kindle Fire, which started shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhipping earlier this week, and the new Nook Tablet, due out Friday, here's another curveball:

"Although Amazon goes out of its way to hide all traces of vanilla Android from its new Kindle Fire tablet, it turns out tech-savvy users can still install select third-party Android applications outside the auspices of the Amazon Appstore. These apps include Amazon competitors, like Barnes & Noble’s Nook app for Android."

Which ever one you choose, I'm envious.
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Shakira was right: Hips don't lie.

"If one would like to 'fake' a certain (positive) personality in order to attract women, this is probably doomed to fail," Fink said. "An individual's body movement pattern is characteristic and any attempt to fake it would result in less positive judgments of that person."

I knew that.
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I've heard of blaming the dog, but blaming the door???

It appears the mind regards a doorway as something experts call an ‘event boundary’, signalling the end of one memory episode and the beginning of another.

And here I thought event boundaries had to do with party manners and social mores...
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When it comes to Obamacare, keep in mind what Obama's new nominee has in mind for us:

“The decision is not whether or not we will ration care — the decision is whether we will ration with our eyes open” — and, in progressive-speak, “The social budget is limited.” (Emphasis mine)

Oh, really? And how are all those folks on the public dole going to handle it when they get turned away from the emergency room for their cold and flu symptoms and free pregnancy tests?
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It sucks being a fiscal conservative these days, because I really am not crazy about any of the Republican candidates at the moment. That being said, William A. Jacobson penned a thoughtful post on why Newt Gingrich may end up being the best choice right now.
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Book Your Ticket

October – 12/91

Skinny Legs and All, Tom Robbins[1]

Case Histories: A Novel, Kate Atkinson[2]

The Kinshield Legacy, K.C. May

The Wayfarer King, K.C. May[3]

Plugged: A Novel, Eoin Colfer[4]

Witches on Parole: Unlocked, Debora Geary[5]

Soulless, Gail Carriger

Heartless, Gail Carriger

Changeless, Gail Carriger

Blameless, Gail Carriger[6]

Stormfront (The Dresden Files, Book 1), Jim Butcher[7]

Starting from Happy, Patricia Marx[8]

---

[1] A blend of screwball comedy, deep philosophy and examination of the function of organized religion. Only Tom Robbins could pull this one off so beautifully.

[2] Take a raft of characters ala Maeve Binchy, throw in a couple of murders and stir in a plodding, morose beginning. Stick with it, though, because this book does get better. Still, don’t expect happy Binchy endings.

[3] Not bad fantasy fiction. The pair are a quick read.

[4] Tense, fast-paced and thoroughly satisfying.

[5] Geary’s Witches series is like potato chips – totally addicting.

[6] Speaking of addicting, I adored this series – Victorian costume drama, vampires, werewolves and ghosts with a dollop of steampunk and a healthy dash of humor.

[7] Yeah, it’s fantasy fiction month. Another pretty decent read.

[8] Entirely too hipster in content and style for me. Ugh.

Book Your Ticket

September – 11/79

Blind Faith, C.J. Lyons[1]

The Hypnotist, Lars Kepleri[2]

The Mill River Recluse, Darcie Chan[3]

A Hidden Witch, Debora Geary[4]

A Modern Witch, Debora Geary[5]

Mercury Swings, Robert Kroese[6]

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights, Charlotte Bronte[7]

Kinflicks, Lisa Alther

Rick Perry and His Eggheads: Inside the Brainiest Political Operation in America, Sasha Issenberg[8]

The Second Coming, Walker Percy[9]

---

[1] Murder mystery with a better than average twist.

[2] If you liked The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, you’ll love this murder mystery/thriller.

[3] Just okay, with bog standard characters. With so many better books out there, don’t bother.

[4] This series is so much fun that I’ll probably end up reading them all. This is one you could share with your teenage daughter without a single blush, too.

[5] See what I told you?

[6] Short story falling between Mercury Falls and Mercury Rises, due out soon. Funny, funny, funny stuff.

[7] Who in the world came up with the cockamamie idea that this slog of a book is a romance novel? Miserable, selfish characters who continuously make bad choices. Ugh.

[8] Outtake from The Victory Lab.

[9] Classic Southern writing at its best.

Book Your Ticket

Got a Kindle? If so, Lendle.me is giving away one new Kindle Fire and one new Kindle Touch 3G. Sign up for Lendle.me using my referral code (QM5K9BIA) and I'm entered to win.

Then, send out invitations to all your own Kindle friends using your own new referral code and you not only get one contest entry for each friend who signs up, you'll also earn to free borrow requests for each as well.

I'm all for sharing!

Hump Day

Quote of the Day:

"I am in full nip denial." -- Nancy Grace

*Ahem*

My take on DWTS this week?

• My crystal ball for the Final 3 -- J.R. Martinez, Rikki Lake, Chynna Phillips
• Much improved -- Nancy Grace, Rob Kardashian, Kristin Cavallari
• Meh -- Hope Solo
• Needs a medic, stat! Chaz Bono
  
• Needs to quit horsing around in rehearsals and pay attention to the dances -- Carson Kressley, David Arquette
• Won't miss her one little bit (buh-bye!) -- Elizabetta Canalis
• Going home next week -- Chaz Bono, strictly based on his crunchy knees, not his heart or his efforts
  

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The Kindle Fire debuted today, and it's a thing of beauty:



Now the question is, do I pre-order the 7" version, or wait for the larger model, which I understand will debut after Christmas? Decisions, decisions...
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You remember that recent post about the critter that squicks me out in a major way? Well, it seems the freaking things have shown up in U.S. waters!

A six-year-old girl who went fishing in a Texas lake using a piece of a hot dog as bait got more than she bargained for when she landed her very first catch - a flesh-eating piranha.

Lindsey Schutte and her parents took the fish home in a bucket unaware of its true identity - until it sank its razor-edged teeth into her seven-year-old brother's hand when he tried to play with it.

Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



(I'm guessing some idiot emptied his aquarium into the lake, never dreaming this might happen.)
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Recycling on a very large scale?

It was designed to deter the red threat from the old Soviet Union, but now a Cold War-era missile has had the cobwebs brushed off to launch a U.S. military satellite.

The Peacekeeper, also known as an MX or intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), became part of America’s nuclear arsenal back in 1986 but was decommissioned in 2004.

Converted into a Minotaur IV rocket, it successfully blasted a Tactical Satellite-4 (TacSat-4) into space from a launchpad in Alaska.

How cool is that?
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What happens when bad karma and fed up neighbors collide?

They want the next person to think twice before walking into their community and taking advantage of their friends.

“I think you give a message. You come to our neighborhood. You mess around. You are going to get taken out.”

Love it, love it, LOVE IT!
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Drive-Bys

Everybody loves me today:

• Mr. Jim Ovia of Zenith Bank of Nigeria, in concert with the UNITED NATIONS (his caps, not mine), wants to send me $250,000 -- because it's just laying around, you know.
  
• gerderh51@wxr7eo458.homepage.t-online.de from the UNITED NATIONS sends me an email attachment to download. How special of him!
• Joseph, from that same email address (no mention of the UNITED NATIONS, however), sends me another lovely email attachment, just in case I missed the first one.
• Mrs. Agnes Mba of the Republic of Benin weaves a fascinating tale involving a dead husband, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Mrs. Mba's decision not to remarry and her uncurable cancer. She wants me -- me -- to inherit 30% of the $18.2 million (USD!) that her husband left in his account in Benin so I can take care of the needy peoples. Praise God!

*Ahem*
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No offense, but if this procedure works and is cheap and easy, then why aren't we using it here, instead of more costly and less effective procedures?

The procedure, known as VIA/cryo for visualization of the cervix with acetic acid (vinegar) and treatment with cryotherapy, can be done by a nurse, and only one visit is needed to detect and kill an incipient cancer.

Thailand has gone further than any other nation in adopting it. More than 20 countries, including Ghana and Zimbabwe, have done pilot projects. But in Thailand, VIA/cryo is now routine in 29 of 75 provinces, and 500,000 of the 8 million women, ages 30 to 44, in the target population have been screened at least once.

Dr. Bandit Chumworathayi, a gynecologist at Khon Kaen University who helped run the first Thai study of VIA/cryo, explains that vinegar highlights the tumors because they have more DNA, and thus more protein and less water, than other tissue.

It reveals pre-tumors with more accuracy than a typical Pap smear. But it also has more false positives — spots that turn pale but are not malignant. As a result, some women get unnecessary cryotherapy.

But freezing is about 90 percent effective, and the main side effect is a burning sensation that fades in a day or two.

By contrast, biopsies, the old method, can cause bleeding.

“Some doctors resist” the cryotherapy approach, said Dr. Wachara Eamratsameekool, a gynecologist at rural Roi Et Hospital who helped pioneer the procedure. “They call it ‘poor care for poor people.’ This is a misunderstanding. It’s the most effective use of our resources.”

More please, and faster.

(I don't know about the rest of you ladies, but I'd personally rather err on the safe side, and the side effects don't sound so bad to me.)
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Okay, now I'm getting all tingly:

Amazon is holding a press conference this Wednesday where it's widely expected that the media giant will unveil a new colour Kindle that puts it on collision course with Apple - a device that could be half the price of iPad 2.

I'll probably wait for the bigger one, but at around $250, the smaller version is still really, really tempting.

Book Your Ticket

It was a busy, busy month, but I still managed to squeeze in a good bit of reading:

August – 9/68

Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West, Dorothy Wickenden[1]

Shaken, Not Stirred, Tim Gunn[2]

Mama Does Time (A Mace Bauer Mystery), Deborah Sharp[3]

La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life, Elaine Sciolino[4]

In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler’s Tale, Amitav Ghosh[5]

Grace Under Pressure, Julie Hyzy[6]

A Life That Fits, Heather Wardell[7]

Go Small or Go Home, Heather Wardell

State of Wonder, Ann Patchett[8]

---

[1] Based on the letters of the author’s grandmother and her best friend. A lovely read.

[2] If you are a fan of Project Runway, you’ll love Gunn’s short biography. (Kindle Single)

[3] Very funny southern comedy of manners/murder mystery. First in a series.

[4] A journalist’s exploration of French history, culture and how the art of seduction affects just about everything in French life – including the decline of the dominance of its language and global influence.

[5] Two parallel stories set in Egypt and the middle east, new and old, told by a master story teller.

[6] A new series by the author of the White House Chef mystery series. An okay beginning.

[7] I bought this and the next one because they were cheap and I needed a little light reading. Both protagonists are the weepiest, neediest I’ve come across in a long time. Ugh.

[8] If you like Barbara Kingsolver, you’ll like Ann Patchett. This book, set between Minnesota and the Amazon, is an almost magical read.

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Update: I must have good timing, as this post went up on National "Read A Book" Day!

Drive-Bys

The weather here has been lovely today... just... freaking... lovely.

Current conditions

70°F

Thunderstorm

RealFeel®:

67°F

Humidity:

88%

Winds:

S 16mph

Pressure:

29.79°Hg

Visibility:

8 mi.

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Do you have a BoA or Chase credit card? Then you may want to pay attention to this:

If you have a credit card account with Bank of America or Chase, two of the nation’s largest banks, a major security flaw has been exposed that could make your information vulnerable to an Internet crook – or even a nosy neighbor.

Consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky of ConsumerWorld.org, who discovered the flaw, says anyone who knows your phone number and has the last four digits of your Chase or BofA credit card number might be able access your account.

Here’s the flaw Dworsky uncovered: When you call a bank’s automated credit card account information system, the computer uses caller ID to compare the number you’re calling from with the one on the account (usually your home phone).

At BofA and Chase, if the phone number is a match, the verification process is streamlined. Rather than requiring the entire credit card number to be entered, the caller can usually access the account with only the last four digits. In some cases, a zip code is also required.

“The last four digits of your credit card number are just out there so predominantly,” Dworsky says. “If you look at any sales receipt, it always has those last four digits.”

In order for someone to take advantage of this security loophole, they’d have to trick the bank’s computer to make it appear the call is coming from your home phone. Internet “spoofing” sites make this incredibly easy to do. Con artists have been using this technology for years, and it is how those British tabloid reporters were able to hack into so many voicemail systems.

Yikes!
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Here's a very interesting four-part article on the state of high tech manufacturing, and why it's less and less likely that it'll happen here in the states. While the focus of this article is mainly on Amazon's Kindle, the very effects it describes is evidenced in this article on GE moving its X-ray business to China.
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From Joan of Argghh! a three hankie weeper. Seriously. Don't click on the link without an entire box of tissues at hand.
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Graumagus has finally resurfaced. Yay! Now we can once again enjoy pithy posts such as this.
The man truly does employ a unique turn of phrase...
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Update: Folks ending up here run the gamut from searches on "ass burgers" to "examples of inviolability of human dignity."

Y'all are an interesting bunch.

Drive-Bys

I rarely buy books that aren't on Kindle, but I'm making an exception for one. According to George R.R. Martin:

I'm delighted to be able to announce the forthcoming publication of a new, deluxe, limited edition of A GAME OF THRONES, to be published by my friends at Subterranean Press, and illustrated by the massively talented TED NASMITH.

Ted is widely considered to be one of the "Big Three" of Tolkien illustrators; along with Alan Lee and John Howe, he has brought Middle Earth to life like no one else. And he he is no stranger to my own world, either. Ted painted the all of the wonderful landscapes for the gorgeous 2011 Ice & Fire calendar, with what I consider to be THE definitive depictions of thirteen of the great castles of Westeros.

Zing! Right to the top of my wish list with a bullet.
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Speaking of GRRM, cartoonist Bill Amend clearly thinks like me.
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Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! There's only one Baby and only one Johnny Castle.

Leave It. The Fuck. Alone.
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A new study finds that most people hit by cars in the city are in a crosswalk

Oh really? That's news to me...
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Gouda, Bacon and Pear with Balsamic Onions Sandwich. Ooooooo!

Book Your Ticket

Books Read in June – 12/48

Catcher, Caught, Sarah Collins Honenberger[1]

The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, Benjamin Hale[2]

Wild Bill Donovan, Douglas Waller[3]

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs[4]

Well Bred and Dead, Catherine O’Connell[5]

Perfect on Paper: The (Mis)Adventures of Waverly Bryson, Maria Murnane[6]

Traitor’s Wife, Susan Higginbotham[7]

Tommy Babcock: A World War II Thriller, Rich Whitney Turner[8]

Diary of a Mad Fat Girl, Stephanie McAfee[9]

Mystery: An Alex Delaware Novel, Jonathan Kellerman[10]

Beach Lane, Sherryl Woods

Moonlight Cove, Sherryl Woods[11]

---

[1] Charming, heartbreaking, and an excellent reason to reacquaint yourself with Holden Caulfield and why so many young boys identify with him.

[2] Transfixing fictional narrative told from the perspective of a chimpanzee, born in the Lincoln Park Zoo, who learns to speak English, and the devastating results.

[3] Biography of the larger-than-life man who conceived of and ran the OSS during World War II. Another big booger of a book.

[4] Young adult fiction that’ll grab most adults, too. Harry Potter + time travel + gothic = most excellent read. Yes, there’ll be a sequel.

[5] My friend Walt assured me I’d love this book; the opposite is true. The main character is by far the most shallow, unreasonable and unlikeable I’ve run across in a long, long time.

[6] On the other hand, this book I did love. The protagonist is real a charmer and the story’s got a lot of wit.

[7] Historical fiction, set in the world of England’s Edward III. If you can keep all the names straight, you’ll find it’s a fascinating look at an uneasy era in Britain’s history.

[8] I really liked this story of half a Hollywood brother/sister dance duo, bored and at loose ends when his sister marries and moves to the U.K. Because of his acting ability and fluent German, learned from his grandmother, he ends up spying against Hitler before the U.S. enters the war.

[9] Not your run-of-the-mill chick lit. Bitterly funny.

[10] Grade C. If I wasn’t already invested in the characters from previous books, I probably would have rated this lower. Kellerman just didn’t hit the emotional notes he usually does.

[11] Yes, they’re light reading. Still, I like Woods’ characters.

Drive-Bys

I've always assumed that if sunspots and solar flares are strong enough to cause magnetic poles to flip and potentially wipe out satellite and electrical grids they also dramatically affect climate. Turns out I was right.
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It's no secret I'm a birth mother, and that my daughter's adoption was arranged at a time when adoptions were closed and original birth certificates were sealed.

Illinois law will change all that come November:

Illinois Department of Public Health officials are bracing for a flood of requests in November when a new law will allow thousands of adult adoptees to obtain their birth certificates.

The law passed in Illinois last year could give some adoptees the names of their birth parents for the first time.

I can make an argument for finally opening those doors... and I can make an argument for keeping them closed.

Women who long ago made the choice to give their child a stable home with a loving parent or loving parents did so for all sorts of reasons. Some of us kept our secret and rarely, if ever, talked about it. Some of us have been open about it from day one. I refuse to judge any of them.

Here's the thing -- if you are one of the sisterhood who made this choice, you have another choice to make:

Birth parents can remain anonymous and have their names redacted from any released birth certificate by filling out a form by Nov. 1.

I've been very, very lucky, but I can understand how this could be a difficult choice. Whatever your choice, I stand behind you.
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If the Divine Miss Marilyn were still alive, I'd have to get her the world's most expensive cat toy:


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I love it when karma works:



Next time I'm in Austin, I'm heading straight for the Alamo Drafthouse!
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Clearly Lendle listens to its users! If you're a Kindle owner, I highly recommend this free service.
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Book Your Ticket

Books Read In May – 9/36

Half Broke Horses, Jeannette Walls

Minding Frankie, Maeve Binchy

Foundation, Isaac Asimov

My Thoughts Be Bloody, Nora Titone

Did I Really Make Breakfast? (Well Grandma did help a lot), Fabio Viviani[4]

Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer, Wesley Stace[5]

The Year She Fell, Alice Rasley

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, James Hogg

Private Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, Ulysses S. Grant[6]

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[1] Now I’m ready for A Dance With Dragons. Let’s see if Martin got the manuscript to the publisher in time for it’s promised July 12^th delivery date. (He’s never been on time in the past.)

[2] While I usually like Hester Browne’s books, this one lacks a little pizzazz.

[3] If you’re a baseball fan, this is a must read ­– it’s an unvarnished portrait of a talented and self-destructive icon.

[4] He could use an editor.

[5] Like peeling an onion. (Pay attention to the wording of the title.)

[6] Read in conjunction with Booth’s Sister, My Thoughts Be Bloody and The Autobiography of Mark Twain. There’s a lot of overlap in the historical figures, and the four books combined give a fascinating overview of the time.