Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

He sent the letter in a hot air balloon. It had taken him days to write the letter.  He needed it to be perfect. Once he was sure it was perfect he secured the letter in the envelope.  Tomorrow his father would place the envelope into the sky lantern and they would send it up to heaven so his mother could read the letter.

I can't wait to see this movie!

For Renata by B. Robert Sharry My rating: 5 of 5 stars I've been struggling for a week now to write a review of this book, but I can't clearly put into words what I feel. This book started out kind of slow and I was scared that I wasn't going to like it, and I hate not finishing a book and author asked me to review. While it started out slow, before I knew it I was sucked into this book and the story. It is a beautifully woven story of multiple story lines all revolving around a small group of people who live in Cape Ann, Mass. We are taken along for the journey as Mark tries to discover why his uncle disappeared all those years ago by reading his journal. Mark's Uncle Peter was one of the many men who came back from war a broken shell of his former self.  He takes the job of tending the light house and while he's there he meets Renata.  In his journal is this story a long with a letter for Renata. Mark finds Renata but she denies the events in Peter's j...

It was clear to see he was a thug. “He ain’t look like to thug to me.” Anna walked around to stand behind Robert’s computer. “I mean, look at him, I could take him.” “Robert,” Anna let out an exasperated sigh, “you are supposed to be looking up pictures about what you want to be when you grow up.” He looked up at her, “I was. I typed in thug. See.” He pointed at the search box on his screen. He had typed ‘thuge’ and Google had done a search instead for ‘thuggee’. “First off thug isn’t spelled with an ‘e’.  Second, that is not a viable career option in either spelling.” “Ms. Anderson, I have a question.” Anna looked up to see Robert’s hand in the air waving widly. “Robert you don’t have to call out, just raise your hand.”  Anna made her way over to his computer station.  He now had the Wikipedia article up for Thug Behram, the man whose picture he had criticized   a few minutes earlier. “Robert I said” Anna started but was quickly cut off by him. “I know, but I w...

Only with You by Lauren Layne My rating: 4 of 5 stars Was it enjoyable? Yes! Was it predictable? Yes! Did I care? No! Just read the description of the book and you can understand why I said it was predictable. You already know going in that Gray and Sophie meet in less than ideal circumstances so when Gray shows up as Sophie's sister's date to a family dinner you know things can only get worse before they get better. Besides being a fun romance this book is also a coming of age story for Sophie.  When we first meet Sophie she's adrift in her life, and we learn how much so as the book goes on.  It's Gray's initial perception of Sophie that starts her on a path towards what she really wants out of life.  She quits her job as a waitress and it's at the aforementioned family dinner that Gray is put in a position to offer Sophie the job as his executive assistant. This is where any seasoned romance reader knows things are going to get dicey and funny. The...

I haven't posted a book trailer in awhile. Then I saw this one and had to share!  I have the book on my TBR List and I can't wait to read it!

Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Arianna Huffington My rating: 4 of 5 stars Description: In Thrive, Arianna Huffington makes an impassioned and compelling case for the need to redefine what it means to be successful in today's world. Arianna Huffington's personal wake-up call came in the form of a broken cheekbone and a nasty gash over her eye -- the result of a fall brought on by exhaustion and lack of sleep. As the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group -- one of the fastest growing media companies in the world -- celebrated as one of the world's most influential women, and gracing the covers of magazines, she was, by any traditional measure, extraordinarily successful. Yet as she found herself going from brain MRI to CAT scan to echocardiogram, to find out if there was any underlying medical problem beyond exhaustion, she wondered is this really what success feels lik...

For Short Story #4 we had to write in a point of view we hadn't used in the pervious three stories. I had wanted to write in second person, just wanted to try, but I couldn't get started.  With this last story of the semester I wanted to try writing in the style of a frame tale with each layer of the frame in a different point of view.  Here's a sample of what I submitted: You want to keep reading, but you need to eat something, with the manuscript in hand you head into the kitchen.  You prepared a quick meal before sitting down to read some more. You want to know more about your grandfather’s military career and you’re finally getting a peek into the childhood of your father.  You remember him talking about his family driving across country when his father got stationed in Hawaii and he would only occasional mention what life was like on the island.  You’ve just started reading about that trip and want to see what your grandfather writes. The storm from the nig...

Here's Where I Stand on the I Love the Library Challenge Books Checked Out and Read: The Public Library: A Photographic Essay by Robert Dawson Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman (BCD) The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan The Collector by Nora Roberts Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom by Amy Chua Books Checked Out and Currently Reading Delicious! by Ruth Reichl Books Checked Out and Not Read - Yet Palisades Park by Alan Brennert The Closer by Mariano Rivera Belle: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice by Paula Byrn Here's Where I Stand on the TBR Pile Challenge I read one book on my Nook Cowboy Dad by Cathy McDavid Beauty and the Wolf by Marina Myles Austen in August I'm getting ready for this reading event held by Roof Beam Reader . I've 'competed' the past few years and while it doesn't take a special event for me to read Austen it's always fun. This y...