Cold Cold Heart by Tami Hoag

Tami Hoag, Cold Cold Heart, Book Journey, audio book

Dana Nolan was a strong confident woman who held great promise in her career as a TV Reporter.  That is, until she is attacked and abducted one night by a murderous serial killer that caused her safe world to shatter in a million pieces.

Now, a year later, Dana still struggles with the aftermath of what happened to her.  As the sole survivor of this vicious attacker, Dana knows she should be thankful she did not wind up like his other victims.  Yet Dana is changed having suffered brain damage during her ordeal that has left her with missing pieces of her memory including the disappearance of her best friend which happened many years previously but was never solved.  With renewed interest and a wiped memory, Dana decides to see if she can renew interest in the case to discover what had happened all those years ago…

As Dana begins to look at this old case through fresh perspective and hear about the details of their friendship prior to the disappearance, Dana starts to wonder if she herself was not somehow involved.

 

 

I have not read Tami Hoag in years but when I do, I appreciate her strong and interesting full dimensional protagonists and solid story lines.  As an author, she is consistent in the books she produces.

Cold Cold Heart is not one of those over the top crazy mysteries that leave you spinning in circles going “Wow!”  “What?”  “No Way!”   Instead you find a solid story which moves steadily along giving you time to make your own assumptions along the way.  In the end, you are left with a satisfying read and a good understanding of how you got there.

A realistic look at crime, if you like a good old school mystery without all the rabbit trails and open endings of some of today’s style, Hoag is a solid choice.

 

Julia Whelen narrates this audio and I have enjoyed her in the past (she also narrated Gone Girl, and Delicious).  Honestly, her narration was part of the decision to listen to this one on audio.

 

 

  • Audible Audio Edition
  • Listening Length: 12 hours and 25 minutes
  • Program Type: Audiobook
  • Version: Unabridged
  • Publisher: Brilliance Audio
  • Audible.com Release Date: January 13, 2015

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

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Hello!  Welcome to It’s Monday What Are You Reading?  The meme that we use to share what we read this past week and what our plans are for the upcoming week.  It’s a great way to see what others are reading and add to your own To Be Read list. 😀  You never know where that next great read may come from!

*whew*  It feels like I just wrote this post!  That was a fast week!  I had a few great meetings, finished some projects and managed to get in some reading too so I am feeling pretty balanced!  Here is what I posted this past week:

 

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven – good stuff!

 

Meatless All Day by Taunton Press

 

Twisted Fate by Norah Olson – meh.

 

New Uses For Old Boyfriends by Beth Kendrick – fun read!

 

Pics of last weekends Polar Plungeyes me going in the icy water.

 

Descent by Tim Johnson (read this one for book club)

 

What Is You Reading Style?  ( a fun little chart to see where you land!)

 

Seemed like a good week and a mix of books and audio which is a nice change!  🙂  Here is what I am planning on this week:

 

For My Ears

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Danger is hard to resist in this sexy thriller from Becca Fitzpatrick, the New York Times bestselling author of the Hush, Hush saga.

Brit Pheiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn’t prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

Britt is forced to guide the men off the mountain, and knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there…and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

 

 

 

 

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Maddie Fynn is a shy high school junior, cursed with an eerie intuitive ability: she sees a series of unique digits hovering above the foreheads of each person she encounters. Her earliest memories are marked by these numbers, but it takes her father’s premature death for Maddie and her family to realize that these mysterious digits are actually death dates, and just like birthdays, everyone has one.

Forced by her alcoholic mother to use her ability to make extra money, Maddie identifies the quickly approaching death date of one client’s young son, but because her ability only allows her to see the when and not the how, she’s unable to offer any more insight. When the boy goes missing on that exact date, law enforcement turns to Maddie.

Soon, Maddie is entangled in a homicide investigation, and more young people disappear and are later found murdered. A suspect for the investigation, a target for the murderer, and attracting the attentions of a mysterious young admirer who may be connected to it all, Maddie’s whole existence is about to be turned upside down. Can she right things before it’s too late?

 

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Did you know that your fast food fries contain a chemical used in Silly Putty? Or that a juicy peach sprayed heavily with pesticides could be triggering your body to store fat? When we go to the supermarket, we trust that all our groceries are safe to eat. But much of what we’re putting into our bodies is either tainted with chemicals or processed in a way that makes us gain weight, feel sick, and age before our time.

Luckily, Vani Hari – aka the Food Babe – has got your back. A food activist who has courageously put the heat on big food companies to disclose ingredients and remove toxic additives from their products, Hari has made it her life’s mission to educate the world about how to live a clean, organic, healthy lifestyle in an overprocessed, contaminated-food world, and how to look and feel fabulous while doing it.

 

 

For My Eyes

 

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In all her life, Eustacia “Taisy” Cleary has given her heart to only three men: her first love, Ben Ransom; her twin brother, Marcus; and Wilson Cleary—professor, inventor, philanderer, self-made millionaire, brilliant man, breathtaking jerk: her father.

Seventeen years ago, Wilson ditched his first family for Caroline, a beautiful young sculptor. In all that time, Taisy’s family has seen Wilson, Caroline, and their daughter, Willow, only once.

Why then, is Wilson calling Taisy now, inviting her for an extended visit, encouraging her to meet her pretty sister—a teenager who views her with jealousy, mistrust, and grudging admiration? Why, now, does Wilson want Taisy to help him write his memoir?

 

 

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Alys’s whole world was comprised of the history project that was due, her upcoming violin audition, being held tightly in the arms of her boyfriend, Ben, and laughing with her best friend, Delilah. At least it was—until she found herself on the wrong end of a shotgun in the school library. Her suburban high school had become one of those places you hear about on the news—a place where some disaffected youth decided to end it all and take as many of his teachers and classmates with him as he could. Except, in this story, that youth was Alys’s own brother, Luke. He killed fifteen others and himself, but spared her—though she’ll never know why.

 

Think that’s the plan.  How about you?  What have you read this past week?  What about this coming week?  Add your link to It’s Monday What Are You reading below where it says click here.

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For those who read mainly children and middle grade books please add your link here as well:

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What Is Your Reading Style?

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Earlier this week I read a post at I’m Lost In Books and enjoyed a post about being a multi book reader.  I could relate to her reading style, as I am also a multi book reader.  I enjoyed the picture she had on her post too:

Booklikes, Book JOurney, What Kind Of Reader Are You

How cool is that?

Looking at this list I am pretty much everything listed on the left side.

 

Polygamist Reader:  I do usually have at least two books going at the same time and 2 to 3 audio books.  I pick up the book I am in the mood for, and often if one takes off, the other will be put aside until I finish the one.  Audio is for convenience and I have one in the car, one in the house and one on my phone.  I usually listen to a little of each of these every day.

 

Extrovert Reader:  I do like trying new genres, beautiful books call to me.

 

Altruist Reader:  Oh yeah.  If I like it, you know it.  I gush about it here, I tell my friends, groups I am involved in, and our library.  I have several friends who call me for book recommendations and I am happy to oblige.

 

So how about you?  Do one or more of these styles refer to the way you like to read?  Do you see any pro’s or con’s to your style?

 

Descent by Tim Johnston

Descent, Tim Johnston, Book JOurney

The Courtland family, Grant and Angela and their two teenage children, Sean and Caitlin, travel to Colorado for a family vacation before Caitlin heads off to college.  Caitlin is a runner and has won many awards for her skills and is looking forward to the challenge of the terrain of Colorado.

The first morning they are there, Caitlin and Sean take off to try the trails.  Caitlin on foot and Sean following on his bike.  A short time later Grant receives a call from the police that Sean is in the hospital having been hit by a car and when Grant inquires about Caitlin, the officer is puzzled…. Sean was found alone.  Caitlin was not with him.

This is the start of a family nightmare.  Grant and Angela’s already shaking marriage is put in even more jeopardy when Grant insists that he stay in Colorado to continue the search for Caitlin while Angela and Sean return home to Wisconsin and try to continue on with a semi normal life.  As weeks turn to months, and months to years, the damage to all the Courtlands is evident.

Sean lives with the guilt of knowing more than he is saying, and Caitlin… well, what of Caitlin?  Will she ever be found either dead or alive?

 

 

 

I read this book for our book club and while it was a new title to me I am so glad we read it.  What an excellent read.  I liked how real this book felt, an excellent setting of losing a child in the Colorado mountain area and the only witness was hit by a car and has little recollection, hours lost in the search because the police did not know there was another person with Sean until the call to his parents.  Creepy and brilliant.

There was much to like about this novel that I felt was done very well.  I had only a couple of bumps along the way.  There were several chapters where Sean is referred to as the boy and for some reason I struggled with that… mainly because it was written in a way where for a while I did not know who the book was referring to.. at first I thought it was creating a mysterious narrator but after many chapters of not always knowing who was speaking, it bugged me.  My other bump was in the end a character does something completely out of character which brings things to a close… but did not seem to fit with who this person was for the entire book.

 

Honestly though, compared to the whole book, the bumps were minimal and I found this one hard to put down I wanted so badly to know what had happened to Caitlin and how it would all end.

Deliciously good reading.

 

 

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1 edition (January 6, 2015)

 

 

Morning Meanderings… The Ice Cream Song And Other Oddities

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Good morning!  Happy Sunday to you all.  Day lights savings time is here and as I look at my laptop and my cell phone I am wondering if that is the correct time or if I need to add an hour and I am all weirded out as from the comfort of my recliner I can not see a clock and to comfy to get up and check.

Yesterday afternoon I was downstairs on the treadmill listening to Pandora 80’s cardio because yes that is the way I roll, errr…. tread.  I Will Survive came up by Gloria Gaynor.  I don’t know what got into me but suddenly I was belting out to the tune but changing the words.


I Will Survive, The Ice Cream Song

At first, I was afraid, I was petrified.
Kept thinkin’ I could never live
Without you by my side,
But then I spent so many nights
Thinkin’ how you did me wrong.
And I grew strong
And I learned how to get along.

And so you’re back from my freezer space.
I just walked in to find you here
With all that chocolate and caramel in place.
I should’ve changed that stupid lock,
I should’ve made you leave your key,
If I had known, for just one second,
You’d be back to tempt me.

Well, now go! Get out the door!
Just turn around now,
‘Cause you’re not welcome anymore!
Weren’t you the one
Who tried to hurt me with your fat?
Did you think I like crumble?
Did you think I’d lay down and eat?

Oh no, not I! I will survive!
Oh, as long as I know how to move,
I know I’ll stay alive!

I’ve got everyday to move
And I’ve got the time to groove
and I’ll survive
I will survive (hey-hey)

 

It took all the strength I had
not to grab a spoon
kept trying hard to avoid
the pieces of chocolate moons
and I spent oh so many nights
just feeling sorry for myself
I used to cry
But now I hold my head up high
and you see me
somebody new
I’m not that chained up little person
still in love with you
and so you felt like dropping in
and just expect me to be hungry
and now I’m saving all my calories
for something that’s good for me!

Go on now go! Get out the door!
just turn around now
’cause you’re not welcome anymore
weren’t you the one who tried to hurt me with your fat?
Did you think I like crumbles?
Did you think I’d lay down and eat?
Oh no, not I
I will survive
Oh as long as I know how to move
I know I will stay alive
I’ve got all my life to move
And I’ve got the time to groove
and I’ll survive
I will survive

 

 

I just ruined that song for you forever.  You’re welcome.  😉

 

Bookish in the house:

 

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Last One Home by Debbie Macomber  (audio book)

 

The Year My Mother Came Back by Alice Eve Cohen

 

The Traveling Tea Shop by Belinda Jones

 

The Daughter by Jane Shemilt

 

Reluctantly Charmed by Ellie O’Neil

 

Anything Could Happen by Will Walton

 

Silent Alarm by Jennifer Banash

 

Cold Betrayal by JA Jance

 

 

 

It should be a good bookish week, I finished up our book club read last night for our meeting this Tuesday and hope to get to a few more this week as well.

Morning Meanderings… Pics Of The Plunge or… ICE ICE Baby

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Kind of hard to believe from the comfort of my cozy home this morning that a week ago I was loading up the car with a prom dress, bubble toe tennis shoes, a black make up marker, and wearing a friend of mines dog tags to go to Anoka Minnesota to throw myself in the lake.

😯

Crazy Minnesotans… we will do anything for entertainment in the winter.  🙂

SO for this Saturday Snapshot, I give you the Polar Plunge pics that I have.  There are more to come from the professional camera peeps of the event however those are not posted yet.

Polar Plunge Anoka MInnesota, Book Journey
This is what we walk through to get to the water. We come in through the back where that dark blue is. This is the lull before the storm 🙂

 

Sheila DeChantal, Book Journey
I had offered those who sponsored me to be able to choose what I wore. I had to wear something from Australia (the white t shirt I am wearing), something from Harry Potter (the scar on my forehead), my friends dog tags for his birthday, and a prom dress. Check, check, check, CHECK.

 

 

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This is me and my cousins wife Rhonda (I call her cousin-in-law)…. the dude is a photo bomber and the look on my face is because I suddenly felt someone over my shoulder and he surprised me.

 

Sheila Book Journey Polar Plunge
Showing that I am wearing the dog tags

 

Book JOurney, Polar Plunge, ANoka MInnesota
We are “Plungeriffic”

 

Sheila DeChantal, Book JOurney, Polar Plunge
This is my “I guess I am really doing this” face.

 

Book JOurney, Polar Plunge, Anoka MInnesota
This is our team, we were supporting Angela Wood, a Special Olympian!

 

and the pictures you are waiting for….

Polar Plunge, Anoka Minnesota, Sheila DeChantal, Book Journey
Yup… for a moment I walked on water. And yes, I plugged my nose… this one was deeper than the one I did three years ago.

 

Polar Plunge, Book Journey, SHeila Dechantal, Anoka Minnesota
Me… still in the water. If you are wondering what that feeling is when you jump into a Minnesota lake in March it is mainly “how fast can I get out!”

 

It was for a good cause, our area alone had 1,000 plungers raising a total of $208,000.  Other areas:

South Metro: 985 Plungers raised more than $232,000
Alexandria: 435 Plungers raised more than $93,100

Today there is a plunge in my home town of Brainerd Minnesota.  Oddly, I have completed two now but I have never jumped in Brainerd.  Hmmm…. maybe next year 😀

 

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You may recall in January I picked my word for this year to be Emerge.  I purchased the above necklace for myself on my birthday to remind myself of my word.  I think so far… I am living it. 🙂

 

Today is a day of reading, web design, working out, and just chilling around the house.  I rented Mockingjay for my hubby and I to watch tonight.  Laying low and loving it!

New Uses For Old Boyfriends by Beth Kendrick

Beth Kendrick, New Uses For Old Boyfriends, The Cure For The Common Breakup, Black Dog Bay, Book Journey

Lila Alders grew up in a nice home in a wonderful small town and was pretty much the town sweetheart.  Moving away and taking on a job as a tv personality was right in the plans and so was marrying the guy who provided Lila with the money she was accustomed to as well as a knock out ring to match.  Lila was living the life you see in fairy tales.

Of course….

fairy tales are fiction.

When her marriage falls apart and her job right along with it, Lila picks up what is left of her dignity and bank account and heads back to the comfort of her home town and her mother who still lives in the gorgeous home she grew up in.  Yet Lila finds that her mother is in no better shape than she is.  Having ignored the warnings of financial advisers, Daphne has continued to live beyond her means since the passing of her husband and Lila’s father.  Lila is shocked to find that the money is gone, and it looks like her childhood home must be sold to take her mom out of the dept that she is in.

Perhaps looking up an old boyfriend and trying to rekindle what they once had  will help bring a little of the sparkle back to Lila…  but time marches on, for everyone.

 

 

 

In a word:  Delightful.  In another word:  Fun.  I absolutely enjoyed New Uses For Old Boyfriends.  Lila is a great protagonist.  She may have grown up used to having things handed to her but she is not afraid of hard work to set things right.  And the way she goes about things had me cheering for her and laughing at the same time.  It is hard for me to put into words how much I liked this book.

You may think the synopsis sounds familiar, it is true there are many books out there surrounding the “going back home” theme and honestly a lot of them are pretty predictable.  I am happy to say this is not a cookie cutter version of the others like it.  Beth Kendrick changes things up in New Uses For Old Boyfriends and there are surprises along the way.  In the end, I wanted to do what Lila did and in a fictional world I would move to a sweet little seaside town like Black Dog Bay, join my friends at the Winery in the evenings, and build myself a little business.  A girl can always dream. 🙂

I found this book refreshing and fun.

 

*Quick note – this book is a second in a series called Black Dog Bay however do not let that discourage you.  I honestly did not know it was a second until after I finished the book and was writing this review.  I looked up the information on the first book, Cure For The Common Break Up, and while it has some of the same characters, it is a different story centered around the town.  You do not need to read this first book to get the second.  In fact, I think I have Cure For The Common Break Up on the shelves and I am going to bump that one up to read soon.  I would love to take a trip back to Black Dog Bay.

 

 

  • Series: Black Dog Bay Novel (Book 2)
  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: NAL (February 3, 2015)

 

 

Morning Meanderings… Out Of Control

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Good morning!  For a while there I wasn’t sure if I would get this post up or not, but by doing things out-of-order this morning actually led to this post title so you know… all good things and all that. 🙂

I woke up a little later than usual, I usually pop awake by 6:45 – 7ish every morning but today I got up at 8.  I have been knocking out deadlines all week and started a new project yesterday that I think left me feeling a little exhausted.  I am also a combination night owl (go to bed around 11-midnight) and an early bird.

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Eep! I like the morning qualities and half of the evening!

 

Anyhoo (sooooo easy to get off subject!), my plan was to write this post, answer emails, look at job proposals, hit my downstairs gym, clean up, and head up town by 11 am where I would complete all my tasks, be home by 1 and finish a book I am enjoying and later work on the Friends website.

In actuality it has gone something like this…

Up and started looking at emails. Responded to those I needed to and then went on to my book email (this is where it all went south)… my book email is where I communicate with authors and publishers and bloggers.  I have neglected this email for a couple of weeks now as I just have not had time to go through the requests.  For some reason this morning I was in the mood.  I not only responded to all the emails, even letting them know if the book was not a fit for me, I also wrote the questions for an author I am interviewing later this month, and looked up author websites, wondered if I should sign up for Edelweiss and then wondered if perhaps I already was signed up with Edelweiss …. and

well you know how it can be…. I got stuck in a bookish time warp.

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The one funny that came out of this was I agreed to read a new YA book coming out (a sequel) and the publisher said that if I would like they would send the first book “Control” along with so I could read both books.  I agreed to both.   The publisher than responded that the books would come in separate packages as their office was currently out of CONTROL.  I found that to be funny and responded to the email,

“I had to laugh when you said your office was out of CONTROL!”

 

Ahhh good Friday morning humor.  SO now, this post is done and I am behind on my plan for today but that is ok.  It is Friday!  Glorious Friday and maybe I will hit the gym a little later than I had planned, but it will happen. 🙂

Have an awesome start to your weekend!  My weekend will mainly be catch up on all the projects I have going so going into next week will feel a little smoother. 🙂

 

Twisted Fate by Norah Olson

Twisted Fate, Norah Olson, Book JOurney

The Tate sisters could not be more different.  Allyson is all about fashion and appearance and Sydney likes punk rock music, skate boarding and hanging out with her friends.

When a new mysterious boy moves in next door, both girls take notice.  Graham is cute and quiet and takes his camera wherever he goes, always documenting people and life.  Allyson is instantly intrigued but Sydney feels something is off about Graham and worries about her sister.  Graham in turn, takes interest in both girls.

When the unthinkable happens, it is Graham and his camera who may be able to save the day, but at what cost to everyone involved?

 

 

 

This book had great potential.  The synopsis was good, however the first part was a lot about Sydney and her pot smoking friends which I did not find to fit into the main story line at all.  About mid way through the book the narration changes to the adults and it started to get interesting and that lasted through the end of the book which then felt hurried and not satisfactory.

Ugh.

Ok, to explain what I just wrote, Twisted Fate is told from multiple narratives.  Both Ally and Sydney narrate, as well as Graham, and his parents.  There is a lot going on in the book and I think that might just by the problem.  The book lays out in too many directions and nothing felt finished to me.  Where it starts out with Sydney and the pot smoking (which nothing ever comes of this although she is supposedly wicked smart and going to be class valedictorian) and suddenly shoots to Graham and the story changes to something else.  It felt choppy.

I think the makings of a good read was there, it just did not execute right.  Oh, and on another note.. the overuse of any descriptions or words in a book always gets me going.  In this book, “skinny jeans” were mentioned often and on the audio I started repeating it every time they talked about it I would say out loud “Skinny jeans!.”  It could have been a drinking game. 😉

I don’t mean for this to be a harsh review.  Clearly it wasn’t a great read for me, yet as I did mention, the Graham story line is very interesting. Perhaps if the story could have focused a little more on that and flushed it out, it had real potential.

Narrated by Emma Galvin (Narrator), Tara Sands (Narrator), Michael Crouch (Narrator), Rachel F. Hirsch (Narrator), Dan Bittner (Narrator), Peter Ganim (Narrator), Tavia Gilbert (Narrator), Ellen Archer (Narrator), Jason Culp (Narrator) .  It was a great cast of narrators, surprisingly many for a fairly short audiobook.

 

 

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (January 20, 2015)
  • Audible Audio Edition
  • Listening Length: 5 hours and 43 minutes
  • Program Type: Audiobook
  • Version: Unabridged
  • Publisher: Harper Audio
  • Audible.com Release Date: January 20, 2015

 

 

Morning Meanderings… We Are Talking Alligators.

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Thursday!  I think my feeling word for today is:

content.

Don’t get me wrong… my days are crazy busy and every time I sit down to the computer I have a post it next to me to write down things as I think of them…

but I think it suits me.

I like checking things off the list and thinking of new things to go on the list and I can tell you, freelancing is not dull.  Just recently I wrote 6 articles on Social Media for a website, 60 Dump Style recipes for a book, 25 articles for a magazine, created a new non profit website and today I scheduled an interview for the alligator story for a summer magazine release.

Alligators!

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I am excited about this one, it will be about a woman who has assisted in alligator rescue in South Carolina.  Bucket list item?  Hmmmmmm….

 

Today I am “touring” a new building for our spring book sale.  We need a bigger space.  It is going to be a good amount of work to get the books over there, but I think it will have a good outcome.