A Duck and a Polar Bear ...

Wednesday night I sat through two and a half hours of Idol Gives Back only to discover I would have to sit through another hour on Thursday to find out who would be eliminated. Okay, truthfully I watched about 15 minutes of the program considering the fact that I flipped channels during every commercial, African visit, guest singer, etc. I was watching, after all, to find out who would be eliminated! It’s not that I don’t have a heart and that I don’t think the program is all for a good cause, but it is called AMERICAN Idol, so I do have trouble understanding why a large chunk of change will be sent to Uganda, Zambia, Angola, Madagascar, and Mali. There are plenty of children living in poverty right here in America.

Thankfully on Thursday I was able to enjoy Survivor when the “hidden immunity idol” finally came into play. What a riot! Right after tribal counsel I flipped back to American Idol
to find out the results. What a complete shock! I don’t know which idol should have been sent packing, but definitely not *this one!
*I so wanted to include a picture, but I don’t want to be a spoiler, so this will have to do.

So, how do I tie the fact that I wasted 3 1/2 hours of my life in front of the TV this week with books? Obviously I should have been reading instead! This weekend we will have the perfect weather to curl up and read. Do you have any suggestions on titles which will wash away my Idol anger?

How often can you include a duck and a polar bear to describe the weather?

Hiatus

For the first time since I started this blog, I am at a complete loss.

Could it be the weather roller coaster we have been on with snow on Monday and Spring coat weather on Friday?

Could it be lack of sleep?

Hot flashes have begun and it would be a concern if I weren’t so darn grateful for the warmth.

After this winter I was beginning to believe I would never feel warm again.

Whatever the reason, I suppose my brain is entitled to a short hiatus.

Unfortunately, that means I have absolutely nothing to write about today.

With nothing to say, how can I possibly match a picture with that?

It appears that this Friday morning requires more creativity than I can muster.

Help!

Mind Over Matter

An out of breath customer rushed through the door recently and requested Grisham's latest. As I fondly placed a copy of The Appeal in her hands, she exclaimed, “My pocketbook demands the paperback!”

When a local teen requested Twilight, I walked her to the Teen Book Club shelf where the paperback is displayed. “I already read it,” explained the Stephenie Meyer fan, “but I want the whole series in hardcover.”

I can’t possibly wait until Nicholas Sparks’ latest comes out in paperback, so the hardcover is a must. In fact, there about half a dozen authors I can’t wait a year or more for. Paperbacks are much easier to throw in my purse, pack in my luggage or read in front of a campfire. Hardcover books can be so cumbersome to read in bed; however the print is friendlier to tired eyes.

Hardcover versus paperback. It’s undeniably a conundrum.

What do you think?

Heaven and Dreams

Yesterday I had a regular customer stop in to tell me he absolutely loved the book he purchased last week, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He was so enthusiastic about this F Scott Fitzgerald satire, which he read on the bus during a school field trip, that he passed it on to a teacher and also promised to let a friend read it next. This very animated teen did a brilliant job of describing the story just enough to draw interest without giving away too much information. Not an easy task with a 64 page short story.

Can you figure out why this picture is included other than the obvious fact that anyone would enjoy looking at a shirtless Brad?

I remember the year I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven and went out the very same day to purchase a copy for my sister. Or the year both my brother and father received Einstein's Dreams for their birthdays.

There are some books which remind me of a certain friend or family member and there are others I am eager to share with everyone I know.

Have you read any books lately that you just could not wait to share?

Happy Days Are Here Again!

Good morning fellow book lovers!

And what a wonderful morning it is. For the first time in months I was able to skip across the beautiful (albeit cracked and sunken) blacktop of our parking lot without gliding across the ice rink or wading through the lake of melted snow. The sun is shining and I expect a robin to land on my shoulder and serenade me at any moment.


Okay, I realize the picture doesn't exactly fit this description - Robins are the first sign of spring in Wisconsin and I don't sing, so that leaves it up to the bird.

Now if I can only discover a book to match my mood. In honor of
St. Patrick’s Day on Monday, our book club choice this month is The Gathering by Anne Enright and although beautifully written, the first half of the book, which I have read so far, is not exactly uplifting. Normally when I need a chuckle I pick up the latest Janet Evanovich, however, I’m looking for something a little more profound for our next book club meeting. Our last five choices provoked deep discussions and were acceptably stimulating for a book club, but cheerful subjects they were not!

What can you suggest for a title which will leave us rolling and yet leave enough to discuss in our next book club meeting?

Time Warp

Last Friday was Leap Day , an event which occurs every four years. You would think having that extra day would allow me to get my blog written on time. Unfortunately, last week another once-every- four-year occurrence took place. I got sick. My loving husband decided to share the dreaded flu with me after I so thoughtfully pointed out what babies men are when sick. Of course I had to get it twice as bad and for twice as long as he did, and yet, I don’t whine half as much. Sure, I curl into a ball and play dead, but at least he doesn’t have to listen to me whine.

Now this weekend Daylight Saving Time begins. I have heard many a foolish individual talk about the lost hour of sleep, which I fail to understand. Okay, so before going to bed on Saturday I need to turn my clock ahead one hour. Sunday is my one and only day off, so does it matter when I decide to get up? Personally, I will be losing an hour of my day, definitely not an hour of my precious sleep time!

First we gain a day then we lose an hour. I feel as though I am living Einstein’s Dreams! Tomorrow will I wake up in yesterday or will I blink and find myself living next year? Why is it that the older I get the faster time flies? Is there a point when it slows down again? What do you think?

Describe Your Life in Six Words

Can you describe your life in six words?

The editors of Smith magazine asked hundreds of writers, both famous and obscure, to boil down their lives to only six words. The result is the new book, Not Quite What I was Planning. Sound easy? Think again! I’ve found it is much easier to come up with six words about someone else than yourself. Take my family for instance. My shy, quiet child with good grades can now be described as If I only had a brain. Then there is my perfectly normal chocolate loving dimpled darling who is now a purple-haired, boy-crazy, moody teen. My accident waiting to happen little boy is now a hockey playing smart a** honor student. As for myself? I suppose I can’t write, so I sell may be accurate, or It’s on my “to read” pile. Most likely, If kids read blog, big trouble!!

How about you? Can you describe your life in six words?

Need a few suggestions? Check out this great
article by Henry Alford.