Far better than some of those popular thrillers...

VERY interesting book.

This is one I would love to discuss with my bookclub ladies.

Damn, I wish I would have written this after I had finished this book, not attempting to reconstruct my impressions weeks later.  Such is life.

This is about a family cracking around the edges, and something terrible happens in the tradition of old school horror movies meets reality TV.  Well worth a gander.

That wolf in the tower

I love being able to adjust dates. It is like having correct history at work.  I must admit, I am a bit shocked that it has been a while since I updated my blog. I didn't mean for two months to go sliding past, but they did.  I am writing this in August, and dating it for July... purely to almost accurately track what I was reading and when.  For some reason, I like having this record.  The books I read throughout the year are but one of the joyrides I am on.

You could also track my year by kids sports.

How many walks I take at lunch at work.

How many times I check my budget.

I am loving the different fantasy books I have been reading.  This was another one that was a solid entry for me.  Great summer read, I liked that this one wasn't a series, and different enough.

Well done trilogy

All three were great, and the second book didn't go through that terrible slump that so many second books do.

This is such a different series, and the embedded photos are just wonderfully strange.

I am really looking forward to seeing this movie when it comes out.

Still lurvley.

When you are a little ragged around the edges and want to read a lovely book.. any in this series is worth your time.

Nothing earth shattering, just lovely reads about the fictional town of Ballybucklebo in Northern Ireland in the mid 20th century.

Something about this series...

Does this book/series count as a guilty pleasure? I would say magical fantasy and defintely YA, and I loved them all.  I have no idea why... but they were just right up my alley and I enjoyed all four books.  This one was no exception.  Heck, I may even go and read her other series.

Lost something...

This is fantasy in a totally different direction.

If you love Literature, and get off on your grammar... I think you would really enjoy these books.

I liked it... but it wasn't a speedy read or one that kept me up at night.

Some days are important to make note of.

Shit. It is already June 20th. How did this happen? Oh yes.  Life hasn't been dramatic, but it has been busy. I like to say that the days slip, and it really does seem to be the way it happens.  You get so caught up in trying to make it through the day, the next few days, the weekend, the week, that all of a sudden a month is gone and your kids are getting big so fast and you look at your spouse and you both have grey hair and I really don't feel that old.

It is Father's Day, and I hope my hubby felt some of the love directed his way from the kids.  He got cool hand made gifts this year.  I also got to see my dad this morning at both of my kid's events, and that was really important.

I really didn't think that lacrosse would be one of those things in Connor's life that would have a huge impact.  This has been a great season.  Connor has improved so much over the last three months, and his team has been great.  Amazing coaches, great parents, and the kids have embraced Connor.  We have found the sport combination between hockey and lacrosse that Connor seems to be finding his place in.  So much for baseball. I really tried.  Lacrosse has been SO MUCH MORE. Finished off a tournament and they went undefeated.  Connor was running, and a guy bounced off of him, and he almost got a goal.  Pure awesome.  They got their medals, which was even better in their eyes!

Brandon has also rode in his yearly riding event.  I really didn't think he would this year, and there were moments I thought he was going to quit.  He didn't.  He chose to stay.  He chose to continue on, and to be a part of the horse show.  He did amazing.  Best ever.  I almost cried and felt a bit overwhelmed. I cannot believe some of the people that have come in to our life and left their mark ever since we started on Brandon's unusual journey with CP and hydrocephalus. I am humbled by some of their grace, and love, and how generous they can be.

I was washed in pride for my kids today. They both did well in their sports.  They were in glorious moments, and it happened on a Father's Day.  How cool is that?

Grade 1 and Grade 4 are almost done.  Brandon is almost done with traditional daycare settings, and Connor has a year or two left. The winds of change are upon us, and things are going to shift again.  It will be amazing to see where the boys are at by the end of the summer.  Some weeks with their folks, some camps, see where they get to.

Unexpected

Sometimes it is good to blog in the moment so I don't lose some of the thoughts that are rattling around in my brain. I do think that when so much can happen in any given day (work, commute, meals, kids, sports, cats, laundry, food shopping, friends, Facebook) if you don't stop to reflect for a few moments, you can truly lose so much as it just becomes a bit of white noise in your life.

This was a great YA book.  It seems that there have been many more YA books peppered in to my daily reading in the last few years. I am so grateful I opened my eyes and my heart to different books.

I never thought that the first time I read about someone with hydrocephalus it would be in a book such as this.  First line in the book essentially talks about this kids' water on the brain and how he was lucky to be alive.  And then life moved on.

Isn't that just the thing? Life is complex. Life is many things.  At one point, our main character comes to realize that he may be a Spokane Indian, and more nomadic than his peers, he is also part of the people that love basketball, and comics, and reading.  This is a book about community, and growing up poor and Indian and on the rez, and how it can be such a terrible cycle to break to get out of a life without hope and to get farther than two miles from where you are born. I did some googling, and apparently this book is BANNED in some schools! THIS IS A GREAT read!! It is a coming of age novel that tackles some pretty heavy topics, but isn't that life? We cannot pretend for our kids that crappy things don't happen.  We can't put our kids in plastic bubble wrap and think they will never get hurt, or their heart's broken.  We need to build resilience.  Foster hope.  Encourage joy.  Keep them curious.  This is a great book and would be an interesting addition to grade 8 - 10 curriculum, especially from a different perspective that we don't always hear from.

So many different things you could say about this book.  I enjoyed it.  I thought so, until I read the first few lines, wigged out a bit, slept on it, and carried on.  I laughed, and I ached for this poor kid.  Human experiences, I think we can all relate to a part of a book like this.

This one had promise ... but ...

The writing was fair, the characters started off showing some promise.. and then I started to lose interest because the story just seemed a bit predictable by the end and I found myself getting a wee bit frustrated and turning the pages faster and faster until I finished the book.

Very average.

Surprising.

This was better than I thought! A totally different choice for book club this month, and I found that I really enjoyed reading about Lowe's life.  I was surprised about some things, and I really enjoyed reading the passages about when he was making the 'Outsiders' movie.  Reading the stories about growing up with Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez as your best buddies was a bit crazy after having been a little younger and watched all those brat pack movies.

There were good stories, and insights (such as being surprised about Lowe's sobriety), and Lowe comes off fairly self aware and intelligent (not just a pretty face).  Some of his comments about fellow actors were interesting (such as how talented and driven Patrick Swayze was).

This book didn't dish out on people, or throw them under the bus, you get the impression that Lowe truly loves his wife and is grateful for her, and that he made mistakes when he was younger. The stories are good, however, they don't get in to the really nitty gritty details of what really was happening, but I think enough details are revealed to keep you interested as you read this book.

A slow burn

This is the kind of book that creeps up on you.

Not quite as engaging as Blackberry Wine... but the characters draw you in and this is a well crafted book.

A very different perspective of life during WWII in France from a child's perspective.

I enjoyed this one as much for how it is crafted as for the story itself.

Unexpected wonder

I blame my dear friend Cher for this current series of books by the same author.

Chocolat was pretty good.  Then I devoured this one.  I loved this one.  I found I really like the main character and his journey, and this was a delicious novel.

Writing is well done, a little bit of everyday magic, and I found that this book went way too quickly for my liking.

A little chocolat, perhaps?

I love that Ken watched this with me.  Even more that he liked it.

I think I have reached that "age" where movies made 10 or 15 years ago don't feel that old!

This is a good book, I think I enjoyed some of twists and plot development more in the book than the movie, but isn't that usually the way?

I have only had one cuppa chocolate (spiced mocha) truly in this spirit and it was at Kapulua (sp?) golf course in Maui and it was an unexpected treat.

A book two success story

Maybe one of these weeks I will have time to properly blog again.

I love this series.  So different, so weird, I like it.

This was a book two that DID NOT disappoint. I am sad to have to wait a few months before I get my hands on the third book.

Good things come to those who wait, right?

What is luck, really?

Who are you? Who are we?

These are important questions to reflect upon, and it is not often that we give ourselves the space to explore these questions, especially once you factor in spouses, kids, work, and other loving responsibilities.

I am currently reading Award Applications.  They are truly inspiring to contemplate.

We don't give ourselves enough credit for what we have accomplished.  As a culture, we seem to never feel we are "good" enough, or that we have "accomplished" enough.  What is enough?

I think we are goal orientated, however, I think we also need to start appreciating what is truly enough.

I am also just finishing up Piper Kerman's biography Orange is the New Black.  There are a lot of details that shift from the book to the series, but truly the book is not nearly as racy or sexy as the series would have you believe.  I would not have sat down and had a beer with Cheryl Strayed, but I would with Piper.  She has a good bead on what is important, and she reflects upon some of the unexpected gifts she discovers during her year in prison.  I really enjoyed this book - more than I expected to. I was a good read, but not a quick read.  I think it challenged some of my perceptions about doing time, and affirmed for me how important restorative justice could be if we have willing participants.  Well worth a read.

What does HOME mean?

It is something that we all carry inside of us and is in the people we love.

It is also rooted in a place, where we put down roots.

Joy.
Dignity.
Kindness.
Pink glasses to view the world.
Flexibility.
Simple Pleasures.
Fresh air.
Moving water.
Being present.
Love.

These are thoughts flitting through my head as I complete this book and these applications.

This is disjointed, and somewhat incomplete.  Yet, I have scribbled a few words and thrown a few thoughts out there that hopefully I can return to.

I would have a beer with her...

What a pleasant surprise.

I remember reading the book Wild, and thinking, I likely would not go for a beer with the author because I wouldn't have anything to say.

I really enjoyed this biography.  Piper has a few things to say, and says them well.

Makes you think about the U.S. prison system and the amount of money tied up in it compared to their education system and you can't help but what wonder, what is wrong with this picture?

Yes, the series definitely draws from this book, but isn't nearly as racy and sexy as the episodes would have you believe.  You do care, and you see growth, and the capacity humans have to be the best and worst they can be.  Good read.

In my mind, I think I crafted a great post about this book.

Lovely and weird

Awkward.

But not in a bad way.

Very nostalgic.

Dark or light? Good or bad?

Really... in this human condition do any of us really fall completely on one side of this divide?

Great book.  I enjoy Rebus.  He certainly is quite the character.