Nora has been missing for months… and when she does return home she is missing a chunk of her memory. She is not sure what happened to her during the time she was away and is even missing memories of her life prior to the disappearance…
No recollection of Rickson….. no recollection of Patch…
All she does know is that the man who is dating her mom gives her some serious creep vibes… and that guy named Scott that seems like more than a friend and something… something on the edge of her memory, and in her dreams…
there is a guy…
Silence was a stronger book than Hush Hush and Crescendo… now three books in, this is more than a Paranormal love story… now there is a war being fought between fallen angels and Nephilim. There is a battle to be won and most impressive – Nora has grown into a much strongerprotagonist than she previously was!
The romance between Patch and Nora is pretty awesome too – and I am by no means a lover of romance novels so that is HUGE for me to say.
I went into Silence thinking this was the last book in the Hush Hush trilogy and I wanted to know where it was all going. Turns out… Becca Fitzpatrick had other plans and I discovered after I started listening to this one that there will be one more book, Finale coming in Fall 2012! I am super excited to see where this story line goes from here!
Hmmmm…. I am thinking maybe I should start connecting to the Sunday Salon that many of the blogs I enjoy reading connect to. I love reading about their week, whats coming up, etc… and this morning, sitting here with COFFEE CUP, I feel like chatting with my bookish friends as thought you were sitting here with me.
Al has been out-of-town on a job this week so I have been working and working out and then hanging out at home. Normally I don’t mind being alone but this weekend have felt a little stir crazy so I am glad he will be popping in later tonight and not leaving again until tomorrow night.
Yesterday I went to the gym and a Zumba class with my friend Christy. Thank you Christy! Prior to going I had no energy and was considering a nap (AND it was only 10 am!). The class energized me and made me laugh as I am no Zumba expert…. but I have fun trying.
In the afternoon I listened to the rest of Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick on audio while cleaning around the house. I went into this audio thinking it was the last of the trilogy (check it out on Amazon – it actually says it is the last book!) Then thanks to comments here this past week I learned that there will be a fourth book coming out this fall. That’s cool, but I probably would not have rushed through this last one… if I knew it was not…. errrr…. the last one. 😀
I hit the grocery store for a couple of things and at the check out impulse bought the new March edition of Every Day With Rachael Ray…. they had a recipe in there for Tortilla Soup that caught my eye….
Note - this is not the March 2012 edition but I could not find a pic of that one on line....
I wrote a couple of reviews, talked with a friend on the phone (twice!) and eventually ordered a vegie pizza for delivery and watched the movie What’s Your Number? which was sent to me for review. (Review to come this week).
This morning I am on my way to church, have work out plans this afternoon, then home to hopefully do some writing and make soup! 😀 I am working towards healthier eating (ignore the vegie pizza above!) to get ready for some fun activities coming this spring through fall that are going to challenge me physically. More on that…. later. 🙂
What if there was a book that not only recommended GREAT book club reads with synopsis, but also recipes to go with the books from well-known authors and book clubs? For a book club gal, and a book lover – this is a GREAT FIND! Books such as Cutting For Stone, The Book Thief,The Help, ROOM, Reading Lolita, Bel Canto, Water For Elephants, Snow Flower And The Secret Fan, Jane Eyre, Freedom, Devil In The White City, etc…
Many years ago I discovered the first edition of this book. I loved the concept and used it religiously when planning out books to read for our group as well as food to go with the book. In fact, as I write this now, I think the first edition of this book was the beginning of our book club, The Bookies, introduction to food made to go with our reviews.
To this day, this very book sits in my front sitting room, in an honor spot on a stand next to the rocking chair.
The first edition: released in 2004
Now knowing all this, you can imagine my delight when last summer author Judy Gelman emailed me saying she had noticed my book club book and food combination reviews and wanted to know if our book club would consider reviewing a couple of books on her list and cook food themed to them. I admit to saying “YES!” before even asking my book club. 😛
Of course The bookies were honored and wanted to participate so we chose three books off the list Judy provided, Olive Kitteridge, Cutting For Stone, and Little Bee. We already had our monthly book club books chosen so these reviews became bonus reads and we would gather at my home with food and discuss the book.
We had a lot of fun and when I reviewed the books and food, I emailed Judith our reviews as well.
When the advanced release version of this book made its way into my hands recently I was sooooo excited! Not only for the fact that The Bookies are mentioned in the book, but also that I had in my hot little hands a second version of a book that I have loved through the years… a new Book Club cook book… new books… new authors… new recipes and ideas! (It’s probably no big surprise that I did not wait long to dive it!)
Now you might think this review is a little bias, but remember – I read and loved the first one years before I was reviewing books…. this one would have been on my list to own anyway!
Book Club members, book lovers, and food lovers will all appreciate this book! Not only does it list a wonderful group of books that make for wonderful discussion, but the food and the ideas to go along with the books will put that little extra into your discussion and have people waiting to get into your book group!
And of course I loved it! Each book gives a full page synopsis as well as publishing information, followed by food that would go well with the book, sometimes by the author, and always ideas from a book club as well. If anything, this book is dangerous as I drank in all the books I have yet to read and delicious food to go with them. The ideas were already forming in my mind….
I want to do a Bel Canto party… dress up the whole works…. maybe I can talk the Bookies into doing this one for our October classic read….. and I would love to do a Chocolat by Joanne Harris review as well with melt in your mouth chocolates…. maybe we could follow-up with the movie….. AND….
See what did I tell you? The book is dangerous!
This is a book I will keep close and refer to time and again, not only do I get a good taste of wonderful book club reads… but ideas to go along with the reviews!
This review is part of Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking. Pop over and see what wonderful food related books are being read and what is cooking this weekend!
Good morning! SATURDAY!!!! Did you know this is my favorite day of the week? I love Saturdays, they are days that only have things “to do” in them (usually) that I put there… not put there for me :D. Today is one of those Saturdays. I am going to go help a friend this morning and then hit the gym for Zumba after that.
Then I think I will be home. I would love to do a little reading… and little writing.
For Alyce’s Saturday Snapshot I thought I would post some old pics’. Don’t you love old pictures? I always look at them in awe when I think how much photography has changed in just a couple of generations…. we can do so much with a picture now…
This is my Uncle Dallas on the bike and my mom, Elaine riding on the back. My mom said her nick name growing up was "ping pong" because her hair was white blond as a child.
This is my Great Grandmother (left) holding my Aunt Jackie and my Great Great Grandmother (right) holding my Uncle Dallas)
Neither of the pictures have dates on them but my mom was born in 1948 so I am guessing the top pic has to be the early 50’s and the lower pic as my Aunt Jackie is older than my mom would have to be mid to late 40’s.
That’s it for this morning… working on a review for this afternoon. 😀
Lee Lipsenthal helped thousands of patients through his job as the medical director of Preventative Medicine Research Institute. His job was to help those with serious diseases to overcome their fears of pain and of death. Lee was extremely successful in making others feel comfortable in their time of greatest need.
Then in July of 2009, after a doctors visit it was discovered that Lee had esophageal cancer. Shocked, a now numb Lee stumbled through the every day motions of making his wife feel safe and his two children secure. Lee made a decision then and there that he was not going to stop living, just because he was dying. Instead Lee continued to live life even fuller than before realizing that every bite of life counted…. every flower, every moment, ever conversation….. Lee learned to enjoy Every Sandwich.
For me it is this one self that is not identified with cancer, pain, or fear. Cancer is just a physical event of the moment – it just is what it is.
Lee Lipsenthal
Late last year I read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and this book reminded me a little of that one. Lee, like Randy, had been given a terminal diagnosis…. and Lee, like Randy, decided that they were not just going to lay down and die… but choose to live each day as best they could.
Lee chose to live by rules that each of us should apply in our lives anyway:
Make unconditional love a practice.
Fun stuff happens every day, embrace it.
Find joy in your work.
Be committed to make a difference.
I have to admit I struggled with Lee’s thoughts on God (or what he called the “God Neuroimagination”) and some of the different ways he experienced or pursued spirituality. It did seem as though he did experience Jesus at one point and that I was thrilled about.
I liked some of the things that Lee did or suggested. Writing three things down each day that we are grateful for that happened that day before we go to bed? I love that! Who am I kidding? I need that!
Lee’s story is bitter sweet. In his final year he reminds us that life is short for all of us. It’s too short for fighting or separating yourself from family and friends, its time we all take a closer look at the things, the people we take for granted.
I lost my entire immediate family by the time I was 29 years old. I am a firm believer in experiencing the things you have always wanted to try, and to forgive because life is too short to carry the pain of grudge, anger, and resentment. Lee reminds me that each flower is one of a kind and the smell of a spring day is one well worth taking the time to breathe into my memory.
Lee Lipsenthal: August 13th, 1957 to September 20th, 2011. This book was released to the public for sale on November 8th, 2011.
I have one copy of this book available for giveaway – to enter for a chance to win it, leave a comment here letting me know something you live by or wish you did (ie… always saying hello to people you pass on the street, holding door open for people, helping someone in need, never going to bed angry…)
LaVaughn is an urban 14 year old and she has dreams for college. “College,” as described by LaVaughn is a big word for her home where she lives with her mother, “and you have to walk around the word like it is furniture.”
To make her dreams of college come true, LaVaughn takes an after school baby sitting job for two small children. Their mother Jolly, is an abused seventeen year old who is trying to hold a job with little skills and manage a home and two children with little success and a perpetual feeling of overwhelm.
Although LaVaughn’s mom tells her daughter to proceed with caution and not get too involved, LaVaughn’s support of Jolly has potential to lead to greater things for all involved.
The 2nd book in the trilogy....The 3rd book in the trilogy....
I really enjoyed my time in LaVaughn’s world. Lavaughn at 14, is more mature than the mother of two Jolly at 17. What author Virginia Wolfe writes here is a story of circumstances. LaVaughn’s home life is centered around a single mom who works hard, shows value to what she owns and teaches her daughter these same skills. One works hard to have what they have.
Jolly on the other hand was never given the opportunity to learn these skills. She never had loving parents around her having grown up in foster care with a lady names Gram who passed away. She did not finish high school, and her housekeeping and parenting skills are…. ummmm…. lacking.
At times the book was emotional, when Jolly experiences sexual harassment at work she does not know that she has rights, after all hasn’t she been used one way or another all her life? Yet that is the beauty of the story as these two people under different circumstances come together and learn from each other.
LaVaughn’s story continues in the second book called True Believer, and finishes in This Full House.
I listened to this book on audio from my local library
Good morning! A quiet one here at the DeChantal home but a productive one book wise…. 😀
This morning I woke up at 2:30 am…. probably because I went to bed at 9:30 (I know – so weird for me, I am a midnight girl!) Awake, I worked on my bedside read of Every Last Sandwich by Lee Lipenthal. I have been struggling a bit with this one and hope to finish it later today.
I went back to sleep about 3:15 am and then got up at 6:15 am. First stop would be brush my teeth and I turned on my audio book of 11-22-63 by Stephen King and continued on his adventures back in time…. (it sounds odd – but trust me it is FANTASTIC!).
Then I got in the jeep and went to fill our wood stove (yup… I am on stove duty the next three weeks!) and listened to Bitter Melon by Cara Chow my current car audio. I am enjoying this one too! Back in the house I made coffee to Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick… also getting good.
Now – as I continue to get ready for work and back to 11-22-63, I have to say yay for the weekend. I really have nothing planned other than work outs and maybe some reading and writing.
When Dempsey Jo Killebrew gets caught up in a political scandal brought on by her kiniving boss, she is left suddenly unemployed, and under investigation as a possible accomplice. Feeling the heat and having a strong desire “to get out of dodge”, she accepts an offer from her father to help restore the old family home he had recently inherited in Guthrie Georgia. The home, known as Birdsong, is a family treasure, a Victorian Mansion that just needs a little love is what Dempsey is told… and considering the options… it sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
When Dempsey arrives in Georgia at the address her father had given her, she can not believe her eyes. Birdsong may have been quite the home back in its day…. but “Bird poop” is more what it looks like now. Painted a color that can only be described as “Pepto Bismo pink, windows that have been duct taped and a yard that is overgrown with wild shrubs and grass up to her waist… oh and lets not forget the inside where not only is everything worn out, musty and dated – but that would also describe the crotchety elderly woman squatter who is somehow a relation and says she is not moving out. EVER.
Tips and Finds from Mary Kay Andrews
Top Five Renovating Tips
An old house needs old doors, hardware and fixtures. Nothing says “new and cheap” faster than a flimsy hollow-core door and bright gold repro brass hardware. Look for solid wood doors and wood frame windows at salvage yards and antique markets. And don’t forget to check the “building materials” category on Craigslist. I got all the doors for my beach house off Craigslist–for $5 apiece. Vintage hardware can frequently be found at flea markets, or check online sources like eBay.
Vintage light fixtures give a great look–but be sure you factor in the cost of re-wiring them, and finding good-looking shades. Nothing gives a lamp that “granny” look faster than a dingy yellow shade.
Before you invest in antique cast-iron claw-foot tubs or sinks, make sure they have proper fittings. Measure drains and faucet spreads and make sure you can find new ones that will fit and function properly. Antique toilets are generally a bad idea–most local codes require low-flow toilets for water conservation.
Before re-wiring a house, put together a furniture floor plan. You don’t want a heat register under the living room sofa, but you will want outlets on either side of the bed for reading lamps, and for any area that might be used as an office you’ll want plenty of grounded plugs. And how about that flat-screen television your husband wants? Plan now for cable locations.
Be flexible. A great fireplace surround could become a headboard, as could an old paneled door–turned sideways. And that leaded glass window that had to be removed in the remodel? Why not fit it with mirrors and a hinge and make it into a bathroom medicine cabinet?
Top Five Best Junking Finds
Pair of barrel-back armchairs–$30 at an estate sale. They were covered in gold embossed vinyl when I found ‘em. But with the legs stained ebony, and a gorgeous blue Ralph Lauren fabric reupholstery, they’re perfect by my fireplace.
Set of eight antique Wedgewood black and cream transferware plates–$30 at an estate sale. The seller’s mother used some of them for cat dishes, others as an ashtray!
Vintage landscape oil painting, Tuscany maybe? Or Provence? Who cares! Bought at a “divorce sale”–the ex-husband sold this beautiful painting for $50 because it had belonged to his ex-wife. I spent a small fortune framing it, but it’s the basis for a collection of treasured landscape paintings.
Wicker settee, Salvation Army find for $25. I’d walked to the store, and had to hoof it back home in a hurry for money and my car.
Faux alligator train case–found at a yard sale. When I asked the seller if she’d do better on the price, she replied that she’d give it to me for free–if I could figure out how to open it. Since it had a combination lock like the one on my high school graduation luggage, I twirled the dial to 0-0-0–because I never figured out how to change mine–and sure enough, the lock popped open. Score!
The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews is an over all sweet read. Dempsey is not a ditzy woman but instead a street smart gal that is used to designer jeans and expensive footwear. Not only is she surprised by the down home feel of Guthrie where Carharts are the comfort clothes of choice by men and women alike – but Guthrie is surprised by this petite chick who thinks she is going to single handedly fix up the mess that was is Birdsong.
I enjoyed listening to this on audio, it reminded me a bit of Hope Floats and I could picture Sandra Bullock in the part of Dempsey. I look forward to trying other reads from Mary Kay Andrews.
Good morning! I am running out the door to treat myself to a Carribou Coffee this morning so only have a minute to sqquueeee and share that my book club has been mentioned in a book!
Last spring I was contacted by the author of this book because she had seen a post I had written about our book club and seen that we like to bring food that has to do with the book we are reading. That is what the Book Club Cook Book is all about. She had a list of books she wanted to be in the book and wanted book clubs to take a couple of those reads, read them and make food surrounding the book and then share with her (Judy Gelman) the review and the food we had.
Thats normally not the way out book club rolls, we vote on a book as a group and then read it – but I asked the group is some of us were willing to do a couple of bonus reads…. an additional book to our normal stream and they said yes. We read and reviewed Olive Kitteridge and Little Bee. We also read and reviewed Cutting For Stone for this, but we were not chosen for that read (although…. I have to say the food we served with Cutting For Stone was amazing!)
So there it is. That was fun and exciting!
I am off to work and a work out later and then back home later to go through this book! 😀
![](http://bookjourney.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/112.jpg?w=150" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a> "11")
Book Journey 