Sherry Lewis's Blog, page 20

100 Books: #16 The Poet

Michael Connelly's The Poet hits my list of books I want to read at #16. Yes, it's been out for a long, long time. Yes, I should have read it before now. I haven't, and that's why it's on my list. 



I really like Michael Connelly's books. Harry Bosch is one of my all-time favorite characters, so I'm interested to see whether I'll enjoy spending time in Jack McEvoy's head. It doesn't always happen, you know. Sometimes you find an author and a character that just click. You like them both so well, you rush to buy that new series, only to discover that it doesn't click at all. I'm hoping that's not the case with Michael and Jack.



This series does have something else going for it. According to the blurbs I've read, Jack is a Denver Post crime beat reporter. I've never lived in Denver, but my parents lived there for over 20 years, so jumping into this book should feel a little like going home.



Have any of you read it? What did you think? 

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Guilty Pleasures

We all have 'em, don't we? Things we absolutely love that we don't usually talk about with friends and family? Things we'll admit to, but only with a little blush and a protest or two about why they're not really that bad. So, in honor of Thursday Thirteen, here's my list of



13 Guilty Pleasures

1.  An Idiot Abroad. Ricky Gervais and his friend Stephen Merchant send their friend(?) and colleague, Karl Pilkington, around the world to visit the 7 Wonders. Karl is billed as being uncultured, and he grouses through most of each episode about the countries he visits, the people, their hygiene, living conditions, and food. It's generally hilarious, with just enough honestly touching moments to keep me from completely hating Karl and his buddies. 

2. Some reality TV, like Celebrity Apprentice. Okay, so it's a train wreck. And I can still hear Joan Rivers screeching, "She's a poker player," at ... whoever the poker-playing "celebrity" was in the last season -- or was it the season before that? Obviously, I'm not thoroughly invested in the show but it is good for a laugh now and then. It's starting again on March 6th, and I just looked up the cast to see who's going to be on it this season. I've heard of about half of the people listed, which begs the question -- should this show really be called Celebrity Apprentice?  Celebrity Rehab's also on the list. I know this really makes me sound like I'm hooked on celebrities, but I'm not. I swear. Like Apprentice, I usually know about half the cast. It's the human interaction that fascinates me. I use it for research. Really. I do like Dancing with the Stars, but American Idol is lost on me. I've never willingly watched a reality dating show.



3. Ben & Jerry's. I was going to specify a flavor, but I find that's impossible. Some days it has to be Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobbler. Others, nothing but Cherry Garcia. Or Boston Creme Pie, or Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream. I was raised on ice cream as comfort food, which probably isn't a good thing. But there you have it. There's never a bad time for Ben & Jerry's.



4. My Snuggie.  Who would have thought that I'd use a Snuggie in Florida! Thanks to my friend Linda for such a great gift! I'll be kind of sad when it gets warm again and I have to put it away.

5. Diet Pepsi.  Diet Coke will do in a pinch, but nothing beats an icy-cold Diet Pepsi! 

6. A trip to the office supply store. Any office supply store will do. An office-supply aisle at a one-stop store will do if I'm having a real office-supply moment, but as any true office-supply aficionado knows, those one-stop stores are sadly lacking. Just put me inside the front door and let me wander. If I don't have a need for that set of pens or those stacking trays, I'll invent one.

7. Sonic's Grape CreamSlush Treat.  See above notes about ice cream. I first discovered the amazing taste sensation of frozen grape-flavored whatever in ice cream form at a local drive-in called the Iceberg Drive Inn. Their grape milkshake is ... well, amazing! I don't live near the Iceberg anymore, so Sonic is my source for frozen grape ice cream. My only regret is that the CreamSlush Treat is not part of Sonic's Happy Hour two-for-one deal. 



8. Kurt Russell. I'll watch him in anything, anytime. 

9. Maguire's Irish Pub. The atmosphere alone is worth a visit, and I've never had anything off the menu that I wouldn't order again. Their Reuben Eggrolls are out of this world. 

10. Uninterrupted reading time.   11. A trip to a yarn store. A good craft store will do, as long as they have a good supply of yarn. I love to crochet. Afghans. As gifts. And every once in a while I make something for myself. I recently finished this afghan for a friend's baby. Next up, an afghan for my niece's little boy -- promised to him so long ago, I'm embarrassed to admit it.12. Shopping for purses. They don't have to be expensive, but they do have to be cute. And different. And ... cute. Variety is the spice of life! 13. Getting my nails done. I used to have a standing appointment every three weeks with a manicurist named Shauna. The hour or two I spent sitting in that chair and talking about all the important things in the world were some of the best hours in my month. I haven't been to a manicurist in well over a year, but I'm crossing fingers that when circumstances change, I'll be able to find someone I like half as well as I liked Shauna. 

And there you have it. Thirteen of my guilty pleasures. What are some of yours?

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling



My rating: 4 of 5 stars





Overall a good book, but I thought it was too repetitive in places and a bit too long-winded in others. It contained all the expected elements -- trouble with the Malfoys, help from Dumbledore, Ron and Hermoine. A good assortment of suspicious characters to keep young readers guessing. Still, I thought it could have benefited from a little judicious editing. It would have been a really great 500-page book.







View all my reviews

100 Books: #15 The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate

Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate are (is?) #15 on my list of books I want to read. A friend gave me this book years ago because it was one of her favorites. I know absolutely nothing about it except that. But she was a good friend and her tastes in other things matched mine pretty closely, so I accepted the gift with gratitude and promptly placed it on my bookshelf.



Now that I'm trying to compose a list of 100 Books I Want to Read (more appropriately titled 100 Books I've Allowed to Languish on my TBR Stack for Far Too Long!!) I'm resurrecting this gift and putting it near the top of my pile. What? you say! You consider #15 to be "near the top?"



Well . . . yeah! I'm a bookaholic. I have more than 1,000 unread books in my personal collection, and that's after weeding out an embarrassingly large number and giving them away before my cross-country move 14 months ago. This paltry 1,100 or so books is but a drop in the bucket. So being assigned the #15 spot ... well, it's an honor. As well it should be. If I were any kind of friend, I'd have read this one a long, long time ago!



I ask those of you reading this just one thing. Please tell me I'm not the only book-a-holic out there whose TBR piles could make up the inventory for a small book store! Come on. Confess. How big is your TBR pile?

Thirteen Romantic Movies

In honor of Valentine's Day, here are my top 13 Favorite Romantic Movies:



 1. Notting Hill (1999)



Starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. He's Hugh-Grantishly charming and she's ... well, she's Julia. Just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her. The requisite "chasing the girl through crowded city streets" scene in this movie is one of the best ever. 

2. Love, Actually (2003)





Hugh Grant again, this time with the glorious Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, and Alan Rickman, to name just a few of the talented actors in this movie. The scenes between Emma and Alan's characters are particularly touching. Bill Nighy is delightfully icky, but you can't help but love him. Even Kiera Knightly, who usually isn't a favorite, wins me over.



3. America's Sweethearts (2001) 



John Cusack and Catherine Zeta-Jones are America's Sweethearts, once-married actors who made a string of romantic comedies together. Now they're divorced, but the studio needs them to appear together to promote their last movie. Julia Roberts and Billy Chrystal round out the cast. Hilarity ensues. What's not to love?





4. Overboard (1987) 



Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. She's a spoiled rich socialite. He's a poor carpenter. She falls off her yacht and loses her memory. He's Kurt Russell. She struggles to find her way in a strange new world. He's Kurt Russell. The chemistry between them is unmistakable. He's Kurt Russell. Need I say more? 



5.  Sleepless in Seattle (1993)



A classic romance. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. If you haven't seen it, don't wait. It's thoroughly charming -- and I mean that in a good way :) I find myself quoting lines from this one. "It's like a little clue."





6. While You Were Sleeping (1995)



Back in the day, I didn't expect to like this movie. The premise sounded implausible, at best. But it's one of my favorites. Kinda makes you want someone to lean, if you know what I mean.



7. Return to Me (2000)



David Duchovny plays a widower still mourning the loss of his wife. Minnie Driver is a heart transplant patient who received Duchovny's late-wife's heart. Carroll O'Connell and his band of friends are scene-stealers all the way through. One of my favorites. 

8. P.S. I Love You (2007)

 

This movie has several things to recommend it. First, Gerard Butler. Second, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Third, Harry Connick, Jr. And Hillary Swank's pretty darned good too. Kathy Bates as Swank's mother is a great character. Does it even matter what the plot is? Barely. But the plot works and the scenery is stunning.

9. Some Like it Hot (1959) 

 

Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are on the run, hiding from gangsters after witnessing a mob hit. Their only way out of town is to become members of an all-girl band. Marilyn Monroe stars as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk and Joe E Brown is hilarious as Osgood Fielding III. Wonderful. 

10. Teacher's Pet (1958)



Clark Gable plays a rough-edged newspaper man. Doris Day is a journalism professor at the local college. Since Doris Day's character despises Gable's character by reputation, he naturally pretends to be someone else when he's forced to take her class. Gig Young as Dr. Hugo Pine is wonderful. 

11. Truly, Madly Deeply (1990)



Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman in a deeply emotional movie that's also wonderfully funny. If I remember right, this was the first movie I ever saw Rickman in and I became a fan for life. Stevenson's portrayal of grief in a scene at her counselor's office is one of the most realistic I've ever seen. 

12. Sliding Doors (1998)



Gwyneth Paltrow and John Hannah in a wonderful movie about chance. What if one split-second move could forever alter the future? That's what happens to Paltrow's character, and we see her life playing out in two versions, running along in parallel.

13. It Happened One Night (1934) 



Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in a wonderful romantic comedy. She's a runaway heiress. He's a reporter looking for a story. The story goes that this movie was a favorite of animator Friz Freleng, and Gable's character during the hitch-hiking scene helped inspire the creation of Bugs Bunny. 

A Single Shard by Linda Sue ParkMy rating: 5 of 5 stars...

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park



My rating: 5 of 5 stars





Even though I'm now on the other side of the country, I still try to keep up with the books my long-time book club is reading. This book is one of two books we read in January. It's one I probably wouldn't have picked up on my own, but I'm very glad that the ladies of the club added it to our reading list this year.



It's the story of a young orphan boy named Tree-ear, named after a mushroom that grows without benefit of a parent seed. He lives with Crane-man, a kind man who takes him in after his parents are killed. Crane-man receives his name because of one crippled leg. The two live under a bridge in good weather and survive by digging through rubbish bins for cast-off clothes and food.



Eventually, Tree-ear finds himself working for a master potter to pay a debt and the book traces his journey from servant to apprentice and eventually to a skilled artist in his own right. It's a touching story, beautifully written and gently told.



The book was awarded a Newbery Medal. Although the blurb on Amazon.com says it's for ages 10-14, I'd recommend it to anyone from 10 up.





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Ten Favorite Photos

 

Ten favorite photos in no particular order



Copyright Stholen Moments Photography
This one pretty much speaks for itself   

 My dog's first experience with a real body of water. 



Home from deployment. 

 





 

Big Sis and her friend Benjamin



Vanessa and me on the way home from Jacksonville



Sunrise on the Isle of Palms



Copyright Stholen Moments Photography
Riding on the Polar Express -- arriving at the North Pole

 

Taken on our last Pioneer Day in Utah



Why I had a little trouble working while living with the grandkids! This was the view from my "office." 

100 Books: #14 The Magic of Ordinary Days

I have this book listed as #14 on my list of books to read and it's the second alternate in my 2001 To-Be-Read Challenge list. Trouble is, as I began to write this post and I looked at the blurb on goodreads.com, I realized that I may have already read this book. The story line certainly sounds familiar. Lonely girl married to a man she hardly knows. Becomes friends with two Japanese sisters in a nearby internmnent camp . . . If I haven't read it, I read its identical twin.



So I may not be able to use this one as an alternate after all. I'd just check my copy, but I can't find it -- this despite the fact that my daughter and I have spent hours cataloging all the books in the house and making sure we know where they are. Oops! Apparently we failed.



So if I can ever figure out where my copy is and figure out whether I've already read this book, I'll either leave it on my list or take it off.



Which brings me to a question. For those of you who have TBR stacks in the hundreds, if not thousands... How do you keep track of your books? Inquiring minds and all that....

What Makes a Book a Wallbanger?

I'm a writer, but I'm also a reader and every year when contest season rolls around, I'm reminded of that fact. I try to judge the books and manuscripts I'm sent as a reader, not as a writer. Your job, after all, is to create an emotional ride for readers, not to please other writers. So today, as I'm dragging myself through one of the books on my contest stack, I started asking myself what makes a book a wallbanger for me. Let me stop for a moment to say that this particular book isn't one.

But I've read a few, as I'm sure we all have. 

In my mind, there's a big difference between a book that's just okay and one that inspires me to throw it at the wall. 

I've read countless books over the years, and I can only think of a handful that I've actually tossed away in disgust. There are a whole lot more that I've put down and never come back to. I think there are 3 or 4 on the floor by my bed that fall into that category.But we're talking about wallbangers here. What makes a book a wallbanger to you?  

The first book I can honestly remember flinging away in disgust is one I picked up about 30 years ago, while I was going through a divorce and struggling to support my daughter on my own meager income and sporadic child support payments. Life was tough. I was emotionally raw, spiritually battered, and struggling financially. Every day I had to worry about how to feed my child and how to give her enough time and attention, not to mention what was happening to her at the really lousy day care I could afford.

So I picked up this book about a wealthy woman going through a divorce. Life got a little unpleasant for her, so she decided to go to Europe for six months or so to "heal." 

Bang! 

I literally threw that book across the room. I don't remember ever doing that before, but I couldn't get that book out of my hands fast enough! I can tell you in all honesty that in 30-plus years, I never bought another book by that author. At that time in my life, at that moment, when life was so hideously painful and I was too poor to have any options at all, that book felt like a huge betrayal. In that moment, I realized that I don't read to escape my life. I read to make sense of my life and, for me, The Big Disconnect is probably the #1 wallbanger for me. 

What's top on your list?

100 Books: #13 Mrs. Lincoln, A Life

I'll admit I'm fascinated by the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, which is why Mrs. Lincoln, A Life by Catherine Clinton is on my list of books to read at #13. It's at #13 only because I haven't had it on my To-Be-Read stack as long as some of the others on this list.



I read Love is Eternal by Irving Stone many years ago, which is where I learned some of the things about Mary Lincoln that have made me stop and think about her over the years. She was a Southern woman who married a Northern husband--and not just any Northern husband, either. I wonder whether I'd have the courage to stand up for my convictions the way she did when people expected her to walk across the Confederate flag, or how well I'd survive losing a beloved child and my husband.



If memory serves, I was in my early twenties when I first became familiar with Mary Todd Lincoln's life. Since then, I've held my own life up to the light for closer inspection on more than one occasion. I'm interested to see how I fare when I read her story now that I have a little more life experience under my own belt.



Is there some public figure, either alive or dead, who inspires you in some way?