Light and Floofy

Yes, Floofy is a word. I have read so many of Roberts books over the years, that there is a certain level of comfort in picking one up. With few exceptions you know you will get a decent story, a little bit of the mistical, and a few twists. Robert's books are not bit L literature, and they are good at what they are - very much escapist novels that deliver a happy ending.

So, this was a quick, somewhat entertaining, and predictable read. Kind of what I think I needed at this point. I am definitely ready to move on to something with a little bit more meat in it. Our book club is reading a second book by the woman who wrote Sarah's Key... and I haven't found the motivation to pick it up. It may be that I admit in BC that it just wasn't happening for me and I got distracted by other stories.

A wee bit of a struggle

Truly.. even trying to stay up to date with the books that I am reading can be hard. Some days I feel like I am repeating myself in saying that time flies.

I struggled a bit with this book, even though I really like the author/series. This crime focused on hate/racial crimes and it just didn't pull me along like some of the other books did in this series. It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't one of the standouts for me either. More interesting learning just how early Banks split from his wife, and how all of that unfolded.

The quotable Twain

If you have some spare time, and need a chuckle.. spend some time here...

I spent a few moments scrolling through some of the pages of quotes and found myself chuckling a few times - this came out of a conversation with a friend about the classics, when I asked whether or not she had read any of Mark Twain.. she responded that since he had a very low opinion regarding Jane Austen, she had never bothered with his books (I couldn't help but laugh when she told me that Twain thought that Austen should have been beaten over the head with her own leg bone)... hearing this, I had to go to the website:

"I haven't any right to criticise books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Everytime I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone."- Letter to Joseph Twichell, 13 September 1898 (Mark Twain).

For the whole thread that illuminates Twain's position on Austen, visit here.

Sunday morning sleep ins

I miss sleeping in.

Over the last six years of kids, I have gotten used to waking up in the middle of the night a few times and crashing back to sleep, but it seems that waking up for work at 5:30am has now made it damn hard to sleep in on the weekends.

Remember when you were a teenager and getting up before noon was hard? Sleeping in past 6 am is now hard, regardless of whether or not I could use a few more hours of sleep! This morning is strange, only half the house is up!!!

It has been a somewhat productive weekend so far - I was definitely surprised by the news headlines all over the place last night about Houston. I can't say I was always a fan (different music tastes) but she did possess amazing pipes, RIP. On a total aside, is it terrible to admit I have been enjoying watching the Voice? It feels like a guilty pleasure!! HA HA. Even though I have felt a wee bit culturally disconnected over these last six years, you hear the covers of music enough and eventually you get to know the artists behind the voices.. and Adele definitely has an amazing voice. It seems I am stumbling in to a post about music - when I am trying to get C to sleep, I have had the radio on... to a soft rock station.. amazing how songs can bring you back to an age, with memories flooding back of your past self and different periods of your life. Last night the song that stuck out was "Never Surrender" by Corey Hart.. remember those years?? Remember those sunglasses? Ah, youthful angst.

Motivation, wherefore art thou?

Hump Day. Thank God.

I am done, and the day hasn't begun! I should be getting ready for work... and I am rebelling by sitting here and typing instead of pulling on some clothes and running a brush through my hair. I have had some lovely insomnia this week and lots of wake ups from the kids. My intellectual abilities seem to be sluggish today!!

This is an image from a kid's book that is pretty popular around our house (Scaredy Squirrel, at night by Melanie Watt) and it pretty much describes days like today. There is an equally wonderful page when the squirrel has a good night sleep and feels like a million bucks.. but that will be for another day. Okay motivation, where are you because it is time to get ready for work!

9 is the new midnight...

This is the second book I have read in this series, and it was a fast paced action/suspense novel. Since I am "new" to this series, the books I have read focus more on the Joe Pike character rather than Elvis Cole.. at times during this book, I couldn't help but think that here was a slightly different version of Jack Reacher (strong, tough, slightly alienated every man). Although I have enjoyed both Crais and Child's books, I think that Crais' novels are a little bit more believable, if you could stretch it that way. Although that isn't saying I haven't enjoyed each - I have and do.

This was not a deep novel, and didn't really drive character development that far forward. You learn a few more tidbits about Pike's character, a little more humanity, and I am intrigued enough to keep reading the Cole/Pike novels. This novel explored Serbian gangs in SO-CAL and the underworld around it. Definitely interesting, fast-paced, and a good distraction from the daily grind.

I am having a hard time settling on my next book - do I read the Robinson book that I have waiting for me, or a fluffy Roberts novel, or one of Kate Morton's books.. I have read a few pages of them all and I suspect I will break and go for the Robinson...

That was another weekend that blitzed by. We babysat my parent's dog today and that is definitely enough to convince me that a cat and fish house is good. Give it at least 3 years before contemplating the wisdom of a doggie. Visits are good. Overnights are okay. Permanent stays, not so good at this point, LOL. It is amazing how different life is when it doesn't rain. I puttered around my backyard a little, and we took the dog for a walk along the dyke. At least the days are getting longer... it is getting dark just as we are getting home... a few more weeks and we might have some daylight time left to play outside before dinner!! I seem to have adjusted to early mornings fairly easily... the downside is that my bedtime has moved up drastically! speaking of which....