Hi all — I am up North today and the first part of tomorrow… laptop is safely on the kitchen table at home because I have no internet at the cabin so this is a timed post and I am hoping it all worked well and it went live Saturday morning and you are all like “wow… that Sheila, so clever!” LOL….NOT.
Next week I should have cabin pics for you as I am currently with three good friends and we are biking the Gitchigami trail up by the cabin – yay Rhonda, Sheila, and Belinda!!!
This week however, while mowing I took a couple of pics of the fruit trees in my yard…. first the back story…. in 2001 our home was hit by a tornado. We lost a good part of our home, our business, and about 40 trees out of our yard. I am a big time tree lover and the following summer my super great friends of Wal-Mart (Cindy, Heidi, and Sara) all came over, potlucked and each planted two trees for me…. I now have two silver maples, two apple trees and a plum and cherry tree.
Today features one of the apple trees we planted in 2002:
and the plum tree:
I am a huge memory person, LOVE things that have special meaning and surround myself with just that. These trees and their yearly produce reminds me that even in the worst of events…. life does go on, and friends are always there to lend a helping hand. 🙂
I post these pics for the Saturday Snapshot Meme by Alyce at At Home With Books. Pop in and see what everyone else is taking pictures of 🙂
Nick and Amy’s marriage started out just as you would hope, two people deeply in love. Nick was handsome and care free, Amy was beautiful and the “Amy” behind her parents ‘Amazing Amy’ book series which left Amy with quite a little nest egg…
but things are not always as they seem….
As years go by, things change for the happy couple. Amy gives the majority of her money back to her parents when they hit financial difficulties, then both she and Nick lose their jobs in New York. Nick’s mom is sick and his dad has Alzheimer’s so the couple moves back to Missouri to be close to his parents and start over. Amy uses the last large chunk of her inheritance to help Nick and his twin sister Margo purchase a bar.
Now, on their five-year anniversary a very different couple has emerged from where Nick and Amy started. They can not seem to connect any more and that morning Nick leaves for his bar, only to receive a call shortly after from a neighbor saying something seems wrong at Nick’s home, the door is wide open, the cat who is never allowed outside is on the front step. Nick comes home to find the living room tore apart, the iron left on, and Amy missing.
As a closer look is taken, and with the help of the clues that Amy left for Nick as she does every year to find his anniversary present, Nick soon becomes the prime suspect. Having his own secrets, Nick works with his sister trying to get to the bottom of what happened to Amy.
but things are not always as they seem….
As the story unfolds…. there is more than meets the eye and a very twisted tale unfolds which really shows that you never know what goes on behind white picket fences and closed doors.
It looks like Gone Girl is in the works to become a movie starring Reese Witherspoon. That is a movie I want to see!
Why did I want to read this book? Angie from my book club and from By Book Or By Crook, was gushing about this book and wanted to discuss it with others who had read it. Angie has pretty good book choices so to hear her gush made me want to read the book too. I ordered it immediately.
How does one describe Gone Girl? At first it came off as a well written mystery… and it is, but it is also more. I think I may need to quote Alison from Alison’s Bookmarks here, where in her review of this book she said simply, “Holy S_ _ _.” Yup, that can really sum it up! 😀
So now… here is my review as best as I can put it hours after finishing but still staring at the book cover with a wild eyed look of “What the…”
Gone Girl is as I said a mystery. No scratch that… it is a thriller. But also – not your run of the mill thriller (enter scary man stage left) but add PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER to the mix. Yup… it is a little wacky but oh so good!
This is one of those books that are hard to review because it is so masterfully put together you (I) do not want to give anything away that is best for the reader (you) to discover on your own. Which.. leaves me in the awkward position of saying pretty much…
nothing.
Let me put it like this, what you think you know… you don’t. When you think you have it all figured out (like I did by page 111), you don’t. You are not even close to the crazy that is happening up in here. When I told my friend Angie how much I was loving it she asked “are you on part 2 yet?” and I responded., “There’s a part 2?????” I flipped ahead about ten pages and sure enough… the book has a part two, and as long as I am sharing… also a part three.
Gone Girl is one of those books you do not want to put down. I read that first day I picked it up as long as I could into the evening until I felt my eyes droop and I had to stop. A rarity for me, I read this while standing at the grill the next evening, instead of listening to an audio book. Folks… this just does not happen. 😯 In fact, I spent the better part of two days reading this book in every spare moment I could squeeze out and my thoughts on it went something like this:
“WHAT?”
“Noooooo….”
“That can’t be, ri… oh. It is.”
“NO WAY!”
“That’s crazy!”
“That’s brilliant!”
“Oh no he didn’t!”
“OH NO, she didnt!”
Yes, this is my review of Gone Girl. Fantastic. Perhaps, the best book I have read in 2012 so far. It is different than anything I have read before, well through out and now I am seriously curious about author Gillian Flynn’s state of mind (kidding, kidding… I think…). So well thought out… so amazingly put together… I am still sitting here in awe and on my way to see what else she has written. The more I think about the author Gillian Flynn and how she worked in this story line between other story lines and had me thinking one thing but should have been another… and well, lets just say from this post forward Gillian Flynn will be known to me as “The Great And Wonderful Gillian Flynn”.
RECOMMENDED!
*Note: Occasional crude language, nothing over the top (I hate that), but it is there and I want you to be aware.
Also, those of you who have read this and are DYING to gush,vent, rage, chat, ask questions about the book, I have fueled up and dusted off the SPOILER PAGE – let’s talk details!!!! Click below! 😀
Good morning and HAPPY FRIDAY! I have been up for hours already but you would never know it. I have walked the dogs and started some laundry, had a little coffee and really what has kept me busy this morning is that I wrote my review post to Gone Girl. WOW.
That book kept me reading and readers, you know how we all love that. I carried that book to the kitchen, to the living room, to my car, to work, and last night, even next to the grill (for those who borrow my book, I apologize in advance for the BBQ sauce on the lower corner of the final pages). I even went up to the attic of the blog and pulled out the Spoiler Button. I do not get to use it often… but I love it when I do. 😀
The Spoiler Button was something I created a couple of years back that led to a page where I could discuss a book in-depth with those who had also already read that book…. spoilers in that case, are allowed. If you check out my SPOILER page, you will see all the books I have written Spoiler Pages for and some of the discussions are still going strong because some of these books became movies and that opens it all up again. 😀
I leave this afternoon for the cabin with my cousin’s wife and two other friends I ride bike with. We are taking the bikes to the North Shore and biking tomorrow and I am looking forward to it, but will also miss Mater and the gang here. I will be back Sunday afternoon. I have another review to write and will hopefully be able to do that after I run a few errands this morning and then get back here to pack.
Any fun weekend plans for you? I would love to hear about them!
Good morning! As for the title of this post… not me, I am not tired. I am pretty good…. rested, good quiet low-key week so far 😀 However, you may know I have pretty much started a dog rescue site in my home since April…
Bailey, 14 years old now, lost his best friend (and one of mine as well), Elmo last October. One of the hardest days of my life. I suddenly understood how people said they could never own a dog again after doing something like that… too painful. I agree. It took my breath away for days.
Then in April, a friend of mine finds a stray dog by her home. After searching desperately for its owner, calling all the area vets, humane society, etc, she calls me to see if I can give him a home.
No, is my response. Can’t do it no way no how….
but I did let her bring him over…. and I did let him stay over night while she looked for a home… and uh….. Sam, is still here and not going anywhere.
Sam
Then, my Navy son comes home a couple of weeks ago. He is sitting on the deck one sunny Monday afternoon and he shares with me this story about this abused dog his friend has that was rescued by the Pequot Vet. No home, major surgery from the beer (you read that right) they were feeding it, pins in his shoulder from a recent surgery from being tossed out the back of a truck. He is 16 weeks old. Enter, Mater into our life.
Mater
So yeah…. I think I am done now. Three dogs… all great, but yeah. My quiet house… not so quiet anymore with the addition of Mater. I know he will settle down… but currently I feel a bit like “that crazy dog lady”. 😛
Mater… so tired he fell asleep with a bone still in his mouth.
Sam passed out on the couch
Bailey… he is always tired.
So that’s what is happening here… I am finishing up Gone Girl today and holy smokes… so good. My friend Heidi is coming over tonight to pick it up and I am just loving it but at the rate I am going, I may have to wait to give it to her on Friday…. I still have a ways to go 😀
Have you read anything lately that was sooooo awesome it was hard to put down? I need a few more of those. 😀
Lucy Bloom is well on her way to nowhere. Her boyfriend Daniel had left her with an ultimatum, her nineteen year old son was currently in a pricey drug rehab program that Lucy sold her home so he could get the help he needed. She had written a book called ‘Things Are Not People’ which was basically about how to let go of possessions and finally clean out that pesky storage room or closet…. it did ok, but Lucy needed a job with a little “cha-ching” behind it to get back on her feet.
When she makes a connection to a job that involves assisting a crew that will be cleaning out the great and famous painter Marva Meier Rios’s home, Lucy is thrilled to put her organizational skills to work. It doesn’t hurt that the money is good and if she finishes by the date given she will be given a nice bonus that will certainly start her out with a little nest egg for a home, or at least get her beloved car back in the shape it once once.
What Lucy does not know is that Marva really loves “things” and when Lucy first steps into Marva’s home she could not have imagined in her wildest nightmares, this sort of hording.
Yes, hording.
Marva hardly has space to move as items are stacked in her rather large home from floor to ceiling, in boxes, and free standing, piles and piles, on stairs, in hallways, every room… full with Marva’s treasures. And that is the kicker, the job would be enormous no matter what, but add the fact that Marva has the final say on each and every item if it stays or if it goes, and Marva really has a hard time letting go of anything.
This job, will not be easy.
While Lucy wants to make the bonus deadline, she is also juggling a run in with her ex-boyfriend, a hot guy who is leading a work crew at Marva’s, and her son’s inability to stay clean and in the rehab. Top that off while digging through Marva’s treasures, Lucy discovers that Marva is hiding the biggest secret of all.
Why did I want to read/listen to this book? I have read Jill Smolinski once before for book club when we read The Next Thing On My List. This was a great discussion book where we put what would be on our “to do” or bucket list before we hit a certain age. A chance to read her again seemed like a good thing to do.
Objects Of My Affection is really about a hoarder. And while we now have reality shows on all sorts of topics that are horrifying (the strange habits one gives me shudders), Jill Smolinski takes hoarding to a level where it is truly extreme, but never heavy. The book has a nice mix of humor and breaks between the house filled with goodies (and I mean goodies, like original art work, first edition signed books, screen plays, movie props and costumes…) where it ever feels heavy.
For the most part I enjoyed the storyline, it moved quickly and evenly. My only real “UGH” moment was some choices that Lucy made regarding men in her life that annoyed me and I felt at one point was not only highly unlikely but also highly inappropriate and that is all I am going to say about that. (I know, I know… I should lighten up, but I do like my books to be realistic!) Thankfully by the time the book ends, Lucy has redeemed herself. Audio listeners, I do recommend this one in audio. Xe Sands narrates this book and she is fantastic! Her voice is smooth and the perfect narration for Lucy’s first person thoughts and voice. She also flows seamlessly to the male characters as well and Marva.
Book readers, this one is going to come across well in book format as well.
In the end, I thought the storyline was done well, there where a few moments where I wanted to hang Lucy’s son by his toes, but as a mother, I understand that her choices were hard ones – and tough love comes even harder.
Good morning. A quick pop in before I go back to work this morning. Yes, my glorious two free days are over but they were just what I needed. 😀 I got a little sun, I got in some reading (YAY!!!), my home is all caught up on the cleaning, I had time with friends, and two days to love on the new puppy, Mater. This morning I am sitting here with Coffee cup, one eye on my keyboard, one eye on the time trying to balance this post, my getting ready, and packing my lunch, with sailing into work at precisely 5 or so minutes early because that is the way I like to start my days, smoothly… and non rushed.
In bookish news I have read almost the first 200 pages of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and holy smokes I wish sleep was not necessary! What a good read… I think I know whats happening, but then I don’t… and then… GAH!!! 😀 I also started listening to Paper Towns by John Green last night and it is still in the really early part but I am already picking up themes from Looking For Alaska…
Ok, thats my time. Review up later today…. looks like the rain storm that hit us last night has stopped so I think it will be another lovely day for reading on the deck after work today!
Sarah Dessen is an author who still eludes me… I have to read one of her books and I know Camryn has gushed about her before! ~ Sheila
Along for the Ride
Austen is a teenager with teenager issues. Her parent’s divorce gave her a case of insomnia, and her mother’s relationships with her grad students doesn’t sit well with her. Her dad is a professor who like strange names, such as Austen. He believes that great writers deserve to have his children named after them. His new wife, Heidi, gets a taste of this when their child is named Thisbe. Luckily, Heidi convinced him to allow her to make Caroline her middle name, instead of Andromeda. Austen, fed up with her mother’s attitude and games, packs up to live with her dad in Colby, a small beach town. She wants her last summer before college to be different. Her first few days consisted of prepping for Defriese, the college she was going to attend, but soon turns into a friendship with Heidi, and a job at Clementine, Heidi’s store, as Heidi’s book-keeper. In Colby, she meets a fellow insomniac, Eli. Eli is different; he is mysterious, a sort of closed book. As Auden becomes better and better friends with Eli, she starts to learn about his past, and what made him the person he is today.
Along for the Ride is Sarah Dessen’s most recent novel. It’s also my favorite of all of her books. It is for the same preteen to teenager audience, but it’s really great. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good summer read.
Camryn is 13 years old, and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series. When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.
Good morning. Day two of my “bonus” days off and I am enjoying the down time. Yesterday I read, I napped in the sun, I wrote a bit, I blogged a bit, I visited with a couple of friends, I left the house only briefly, otherwise I layed low, listened to audio and not much else 😀
Today I need to ship some books but other than that I plan to repeat yesterday because once you master something so well… I think it is best to repeat 😀
So what am I reading? Well… that remains to be seen. I started The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjallian…
… but seemed to struggle getting into… I am thinking just a bit heavy for my deck hanging out plan, so I switched to The Reunion by Lauraine Snelling…
…. and the book is perfectly fine and I may continue it today but what is calling me thanks to my friend Angie, is Gone Girl…
Which I quote Angie: ” Has anyone read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn? I definitely need to talk to someone about this one!” SO, my copy arrived yesterday and I may just drop everything and do that one instead. 😀
Do you find that this time of year your book attention span is ummm…. smaller? I know mine is… I need books that grab me right away and hang on tight. My attention span grows again as we get into fall and winter.
Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment telling me how many you visited. **You do not have to have a blog to participate! You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.
Yeah…. nothing impressive, still reading the same books… working on some new audio…. New for this week will be:
Lucy Bloom is broke, has been dumped by her boyfriend, and had to sell her house to send her 19-year-old son to drug rehab. Although she’s lost it all, she’s determined to start over. So when she’s offered a high-paying gig helping clear the clutter from the home of reclusive and eccentric painter Marva Meier Rios, Lucy grabs it. Armed with the organizing expertise she gained while writing her book, Things Are Not People, and fueled by a burning desire to get her life back on track, Lucy rolls up her sleeves to take on the mess that fills every room of Marva’s huge home. Lucy soon learns that the real challenge may be taking on Marva, who seems to love the objects in her home too much to let go of any of them.
While trying to stay on course toward a strict deadline – and with an ex-boyfriend back in the picture, a new romance on the scene, and her son’s rehab not going as planned – Lucy discovers that Marva isn’t just hoarding: she is also hiding a big secret. The two form an unlikely bond, as each learns from the other that there are those things in life we keep and those we need to let go – but it’s not always easy to know the difference.
I started this one yesterday and I am really enjoying it so far.
Other than that, I am still trying to clean up some books I want to finish. This week should be good for that as I have Monday and Tuesday off this week and I am sooooooo thrilled!!!! 😀 REST AND RELAXATION time!!!
What are you reading this week? What did you read last week? I am actually going to have time this week to stop by and see for myself what you are reading and I can not wait! 😀
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Its no secret here that I love the back deck to our house. This time of year it is my FAVORITE “room”. This morning is gorgeous as it has been for a while now and I like to get up as the sun in barely coming up, grab my coffee cup and stand on the deck listening to the earth awaken.
I sometimes wish I was out on that deck, which faces away from the road and is quite secluded…. I wish that I would be out there in the morning doing yoga or pilates…. striking a warrior pose and preparing mentally for my day….. stretching, maybe doing a short run around the property….
but uhhh…. yeah, wishes and all that – I am not that girl. 😛
Book Journey 