Few more Books

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hoeesini

I had heard about this book for a long time but only just got around to reading it.

Amir is the son of a walthy Kabul merchant, a member of the ruling caste of Pashtuns.  Hassan, his servant and constant companion, is a Hazara, a despised and impoverished caste.  Their uncommon bond is torn by Amir's choice to abondon his griend amist the increasing ethnic, religious, and political tensions of the dying years of the Afghan monarchy, and apparently dissolved when Amir and his father flee to California to escape the Soviet invasion, leaving Hassan and his own gentle father to a terrible fate.

But years later, an old family friend calls Amir from Pakistan and reminds him:  "There is a way to be good again."  And Amir jouneys back to a distant world, to right past wrongs against the only true friend he ever had. 

The House on Hope Street by Danielle Steele

In 18 years of marriage, Liz and Jack Sutherland had built a family, a successful law pracrice, and a happy home near San Francisco on Hope Street.  Then, in an instant, it all fell apart.  It began like any other Christmas morning.  But for Jack Sutherland, a five-minute errand ends in tragedy.  And suddenly, Liz is alone, in the wake of an unbearable loss.

Powered by her children's love, Liz finds the strength to return to work, to become both mother, and father.  One by one the holidays come and go, until a devastating accident sends her oldest son to the hospital-and brings Dr. Bill Webster into her life.  Bill becomes a friend to Liz as he slowly heals her shattered son.

With the first anniversary of Jack's death approaching, and with it another Christmas in the house on Hope Street, a new relationship offers new hope, and Liz reflects on the little blessings that give strength when nothing else is left.  But she will face one more crisis before she can look ahead to the beginning of a new life.

The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Until the phone calls came at three o'closk on a November morning, the Golds and their neighbours, the Hartes, had been inseparable.  It was no surprise to anyone when their teenage children, Chris and Emily, began showing signs that their relationship was moving beyond that of lifelong friends.  But now seventeen year old Emily is dead-shot with a gun her beloved and devoted Chris pilfered from his father's cabinet as part of an apparent suicide pact-leaving two devasted families stranded in the dark and dense predawn, desparate for answers about an unthinkable act and the children they never really knew.

Dancing in the Dark by Maureen Lee

When Millie Cameron is asked to sort through the belongings of her Aunt Flo, who recently died, she is not at all happy.  She hardly knew here aunt, and besides, Millie has a busy life and her own career to think of.  She certainly wants nothing to do with the seemingly sull, spinster aunt the family refuse to talk about.

However, Millie seems to have little choice but to go to Flo's basement flat and begin the tedious task.  But as dusk falls and Millie sorts through her aunt's collection of photographs, letters and newspaper cuttings, her interest is surprisingly awakened.  Millie finds herself embarking on a journey-a journey to a past which includes a lost lover and a secret child.  And Millie makes the startling discovery that all the threads lead to a shocking conclusion.

I'll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark

Alexandra "Zan" Moreland, a gifted interior designer, is  haunted by the disappearance of her son two years ago from Central Park.  Now, on what would be Matthew's fifth birthday, she is terrified to discover that not only is somebody using her credit cards and manipulating her financial accounts but photos have surfaced that seem to implicate her in the kidnapping.

Hounded by the press, under investigation by the police, attacked by both her angry ex-husband and a vindictive business rival, Zan sets out to find the mastermind behind the cruel hoax.  What she does not realize is that every step she takes towards the truth is putting her-and those she loves most-in mortal danger.  Zan is beginning to doublt her own sanity when, in the kind of fast paced ending the pieces of the puzzle fall into place with an unexpected and shocking revelation.

2012 Books

The Shack by William P. Young

I just couldn't get into this book. I gave up on it a few chapters in.

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

One of my favourite authors. 

It's race week, a body is found in a metal drum near Charlotte Motor Speedway-a discovery that has NASCAR crewman Wayne Gamble urgently seeking out Tempe at the Mecklenburg County ME's office.  Twelve years ago, his sister, Cindi, then a high school senior and aspiring professional race car driver , disappears along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette, who was linked to a group of right-wing extremists.  The FBI joined the investigation but it was soon terminated.  Is the body Cindi's?  Or Cales's?  Test reveal that a toxic substance was in the drum with the body-just as another disappearance occurs. 

Vanish by Tess Gerritsen

A nameless woman appears to be just another body at the morgue-until Boston medical examiner Maura Isles sees the corpse open its eyes.  The now frantic Jane Doe is rushed to the hospital, where with cool precision she shoots a security guard and seizes hostages, one of whom is pregnant homicide detective Jane Rizzoli.  As the tense hours tick by, Maura joins forces with Jane's husband, FBI agent Gabriel Den, to track down the killer's identity.  But this case goes far deeper than just an ordinary hostage crisis, and Jane, trapped with the armed madwoman, is the only one who holds the key to the mystery.

Angels Cry Sometimes by Josephine Cox.

The marriage of Marcia and Curt Ratheter seemes idyllically happy.   But one fateful day in 1931 brought Marcia's world tumbling about her ears and left her and her two daughters bereft.

 Barty Bendell had always loved her, he said; and the girls needed a father.  Marcia moved to Blackburn with him, where she tried to forget the past.  Barty, though, sank into bad ways, tyrannizing the family.  In particular he would vent his aggression on Polly.  Curt and Marcia's first born, blond as an angel but afflicted at birth with an ominous shadow ever her health.

Even in troubled times, lovely Marcia was a fighter.  But news that Curt Ratheter had reappeared would render her helpless prey to wild conflicting emotions.

All My Sisters by Judith Lennox

Iris, Marianne, Eva and Clemency are the daughters of Sheffield manufacturer, Joshua Maclise.  In the tumultous years before the First World War, the sisters seek to fulfil their ambitions.

Pretty, self-centered Iris dreams of a grand marriage, quiet Marianne meets the love of her life, and passionate Eva longs for independence.  Only Clemency, caring for her invalid mother, remains tied to the family home.  Years pass and her hopes of marriage dashed, Iris becomes a nurse in a London hospital.  Marianne, living on a tea estate in Ceylon, finds first her happiness and then her life threatened by a cruel and ruthless man.  When Eva falls in love with the Bohemian, Gabriel Bellamy, her dreams of a career as an artist falter.

As the clouds darken and war changes the lives of all the sisters, Clemency fights to free herself from the bonds that confine her and to discover love at last.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

Meet Delores Price.  She's thirteen, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye.  Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with candy, potatos chips and Pepsi her mother supplies.  When she finally rolls into womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder.  But this time she is determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly up.

Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts

In 1972, windswept DeClare, Oklahoma, was consumed by a terrifying crime: the murder of a young mother, Gaylene Harjo, and the disappearance of her baby, Nicky Jack.  When the child's pajama bottoms were discovered on the banks of Willow Creek, everyone feared that he, too, had been killed, although his body was never found.

Now, nearly thirty years later, Nicky Jack mysteriously returns to DeClare, shocking the town with his sudden reappearance and stirring up long-buried memories.  But what he discovers about the night he vanished is far more than he, or anyone, bargains for.

Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman

Sophie and Carrie were childhood best friends, but in the last few years they've lost touch.  While Carrie chose motherhood in a small town, Sophie is powering up the London career track.  She's a corporate manager poised for her next promotion.

And then Sophie is tole that Carrie has died, with nobody left to care for her two daughters, Bella and Izzy, aged six and three.  Their father, who left before Carrie's death, is nowhere to be found; their grandmother is moving into assisted living.  Sophie once promised Carrie she would take care of her children if the worst ever happened.....and now that day has come.

That's all for now.

8-10 inches

This started about supper time and continued up to midnight. Huge snowflakes, we could hardly see across the street at times.
This was last Thursday.

By suppertime the next day it all gone.
That's springtime in the foothills of the Rockies!

First book of 2012

This Body of Death by Elizabeth George

876 pages!! It's been a while since I've read a book that long. It was a good story though. There were two stories, completely separate, being told at the same time. It all came together in the end, and then it all made sense.

This is the first book I've read by E.G. in the Inspector Lynley saga. I found it very interesting and will read more of them, as I have several that were given to me a long time ago. I'll be passing this onto my dad as I know he enjoys Elizabeth George books. I would definitely recommend it.

Books

I must get these books posted as I have to return 2 of them to their rightful owner.

Sugar Creek by Toni Blake

This was a cute read.
Rachael Farris returned to her childhood home with one mission in mind: get Mike Romo out of her family's apple orchard business and out of their lives. But hard-nosed and totally hot Mike, who happens to be the law in Destiny, is convinced the Farris clan stole the land from his family fifty years ago and he's not backing down. Even when shapely trouble shows up in a pair of designer blue jeans.. However, neither the hunky cop nor the sexy prodigal hometown girl can anticipate the electricity that heats things up whenever they are together-adding new sizzle to an ongoing feud that's raged for generations, and soon putting both their hearts at risk.
Predictable but it was a good light read.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

This is a memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeanette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching then physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents follow them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

This book is truly astonishing-a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.

Prayers and Lies by Sherri Wood EmmonsWhen seven year old Bethany meets her six year old cousin Reana Mae, it's the beginning of a kinship of misfits that saves both from a bone'deep loneliness. Every summer Bethany and her family leave Indianapolis for West Virginia's Coal River Valley. For Bethany's mother, the trips are a reminder of the coalmines and grinding poverty of her childhood, of a place she'd hoped to escape. But her loving relatives, and Bethany's friendship with Reana Mae keep them coming But as Bethany grows older, she realizes that life in this small, close-knit community is not as simple as she once thought.....that the riverside cabins that hold so much of her family's history also teems with scandalous whispers.....and that those closest to her harbor unimaginable secrets. Amid the dense woods and quiet beauty of the valley, these secrets are coming to light at last, with a force devastating enough to shatter lives, faith, and the bond that Bethany once thought would last forever.

Songbird by Josephine Cox

Madelaine Delaney holds a dark and dangerous secret, one that she has carried with her for over twenty years. Madelaine is the star of the show at the Pink Lady Cabaret Bar. Her angelic voice and striking looks capture the hearts of many. But she only has eyes for club owner, Steve Drayton, a devastatingly handsome but terrifying man. Then one night, she witnesses a horrific crime and her life is irrevocably changed forever. The kindness and friendship of one girl, Ellen, rescues Madeleine. But in order to survive, they must flee London, leaving those they dearly love behind, and danger is following them wherever they go.

There are lots of twists and turns in this story so it keeps your interest all the way through.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Aibileen Clark is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, raising her seventeenth white child. She's always taken orders quietly, but lately it leaves her with a bitterness she can no longer bite back. Her friend Minny Jackson has certainly never held her tongue, or held on to a job for very long, but now she's working for a newcomer with secrets that leave her speechless. And white socialite Skeeter Phelan has just returned from college with ambition and a degree but, to her mother's lament, no husband. Normally Skeeter would find solace in Constantine, the beloved maid who raised her, but Constantine has inexplicably disappeared.

Together, these seemingly different women join to work on a project that could forever alter their destinies and the life of a small town-to write, in secret, a tell all book about what it is really like to work as a black maid in the white homes of the South. Despite the terrible risks they will have to take, and the sometimes humorous boundaries they will have to cross, these three women unite with one intention: hope for a better day.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Finally, the third book came out in paperback. Because it has taken so long it took me a little while to get into this book as I couldn't remember all the characters. Once I got into it I really enjoyed it.

Lisbeth Salander lies in critical condition in the intensive care unit of a Swedish hospital. She's fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she'll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will have to prove her innocence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge. Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander id fighting back.

I'm just sorry that there will be no more books by this author. I have really enjoyed this trilogy.
Bye for now.

Potato Crop

I had read about potatoes being grown in containers on the internet last spring so I decided I would try it.
I got one of these collapsible bins and followed the instructions I had read on a gardening blog.
I would add a new bag of compost every time the plants would get about 6 inches high.
After adding 8 bags of compost I decided to let them go on their own. The plants never did flower but according to some of the reading I did not all plants do. I was anxious to see what kind of results I would have, so when the plants were droopy and dying back I decided to dump the dirt out and see what I would have.
Here you see the results!!



The biggest potato was a little bigger than a golf ball and it was downhill from there. We managed to have enough to have at two meals!! To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. With the cost of the container and the cost of the compost it probably works out to two very expensive meals. I really don't know what I could have done wrong so I'm a little leery about trying this again next year. It seems like such a wast of time, money and energy.

More 2011 books

Down Our Street by Lena Kennedy

Amy is the apple of her mother's eye, she's the youngest of 13. With the outbreak of WWII the Flanagan family is sundered, shaken from their crowded nest in London's East End. Joe id made a sergeant, fighting in France. Billy volunteers for the Army Transport, young Dan fulfils his dreams and joins the RAF. The young ones are evacuated from the war torn capital-the girls to Devon and the boys to a school in the Midlands they reckon is worse than Colditz

The war brings tragedy-even the old home is in ruins, bombed and shell-splintered. It's Amy, with her fierce courage and determination, who pulls the family back together. Then handsome Sparky, full of wicked charm and Cockney banter, walks into her life and wins her heart. Turbulent happy years follow; times of great joy for Amy and times of bitter heartrending when family ties war against the needs of her feckless husband.
Quite a few surprises along the way, an interesting read.

Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs

When Tempe Brennan is called to the scene of a Quebec drowning, shocking discoveries await. The victim-identified as John Lowery-was engaged in a bizarre sexual practice when he died; and the same John Lowery was an American soldier declared dead in 1968, after a Huey crash in Vietnam. Who then, Tempe sets off to find out, is buried in the vet's North Carolina grave? Exhuming the remains and having them analyzed at a military compound in Hawaii gets complicated when Tempe's ex Detective Andrew Ryan, appears....and when a Honolulu ME consults with her on who or what lethally attacked a young victim-a shark, or a more sinister predator? And when Lowery's dog tags turn up linked to yet another corpse, Tempe must deconstruct a twisted tale of death that spans years, continents, and too many tragic losses.

Kathy Reich is one of my favourite authors but I must say I found this book rather confusing keeping all the corpses organized as to who was who.

A Time for Us by Josephine Cox

Lucy Nolan is the golden girl. The only daughter of local grocers, Sally and Mike Nolan, she's grown up in a home of total love and security. The one thing her heart desires is that Jack Hanson might ask her to marry him, and when he does eventually propose, Lucy is prepared to give up everything to be with him-even though it means leaving her beloved parents to live abroad where Jack has been offered an exciting business opportunity.

But then, almost on the eve of the marriage itself, tragedy strikes. And for the rest of her life, Lucy is forced to realise that Fate, which has been so kind to her, can also be just as cruel.

I found this an interesting read and do enjoy most of Josephine Cox books.

Love by Design by Nora Roberts

Two books in one

Loving Jack

Somehow her own fictional brooding hero had turned up in person right under her own roof, and now all romance writer Jackie MacNamara had to do was convince stubborn Nathan Powell that happily-ever-after began at home-with her.

Best Laid Plans

She was the sexiest thing in a hard hat that architect Cody Johnson had ever seen, but structural engineer Abra Wilson also had a will as strong as a steel girder-and just about as flexible. But Cody has plans for Abra that not even this spirited beauty could resist.

Two short predictable stories. Good for a summer read.

Promise Canyon by Robyn Carr

After years spent on ranches around Los Angeles, Clay Tahoma is delighted to be Virgin River's new veterinary assistant. The secluded community's wild beauty tugs at his Navajo roots, and he's been welcomed with open arms by everyone in town-everyone except Lilly Yazhi. :i;;y has encountered her share of strong, silent, traditional men within her own aboriginal community, and she's not interested in coming back for more. In her eyes, Clay's earthy, sexy appeal is just an act used to charm wealthy women like his ex-wife. She can't deny his gift for gentling horses, but she's not about to let him control her. There's just one problem-she can't control her attraction to Clay.

Forbidden Falls by Robyn Carr

Noah Kincaid arrives ready to roll up his sleeves and revitalize his new purchase, but he's going to need some help. An ad in the local paper brings an improbable candidate his way. "Pastor's assistant" is not a phrase that springs to mind when Noah meets brassy, beautiful Ellie Baldwin. With her colourful clothes and even more colourful past, Ellie needs a respectable job so she can regain custody of her children. Noah can't help but admire her spunk and determination and she may just be the breath of fresh air he needs.

This unlikely duo may come from two different worlds, but they have more in common than anyone would have expected. And in Virgin River lasting happiness in never out of the question.

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

When Quoyle's two-timing wife meets her just deserts, he retreats with his two daughters to his ancestral home on the starkly beautiful Newfoundland coast, where a rich cast of local characters and family members all play a part in Quoyle's struggle to reclaim his life. As Quoyle confronts his private demons-and the unpredictable forces of nature and society-he begins to see the possibility of love without pain or misery.

I found this book very difficult to stick with, even though I did finish it. I kept thinking it would get better, but it didn't. Sorry I wasted my time.

Hey, Good Looking by Fern Michaels

Darby Lane and Russell Gunn had been inseparable friends from their early years in the Horseshoe, their wonderful Baton Rouge neighborhood of southern comforts and childhood fancies, all the way through to graduate school dreams and beyond.. Then a tragic accident takes Russ's life-and Darby's world is shattered. But her long journey to healing takes hold as Darby begins to see Russ's brother Ben through new eyes. Suddenly love blooms in the place of grief, and now, with the help of three wily and colourful aunts who raise her, Darby faces the challenge of reuniting Ben with his estranged father-if she and her aunts can get through the conniving schemes of Ben's social-climber stepmother, Like the custom dollhouses Darby creates with tender care and patience, she begins to understand that loss can build new life-and love truly can conquer anything.

I found this to be a very silly but funny read.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Harriet Vanger, scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blonkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
I enjoyed this book as much as the first book, The Girl Who Played with Fire. I'm awaiting the third book to come out in paperback.

The Woman Who Left by Josephine Cox

Louise and Ben Hunter have a happy, loving marriage, marred only by their unfulfilled longing for a child. Living and working with Ben's father, Ronnie, they quietly accept their uneventful but contented lives. But when Ronnie dies, their whole world changes. News of his father's passing bring Ben's lazy brother, Jacolb, back on the scene, in the mistaken belief that he stands to inherit Ronnie's small fortune. Added to which he means to have his brother's wife, though just as she did years before, Louise warns him off. Jacob, however, is not so easily dismissed. When he realises it is Ben who will inherit everything, Jacob is beside himself with rage, and commits a terrible deed, one that threatens to destroy everything his brother and Louise hold dear-their home and their family, their friends, their marriage and even their lives.

I enjoyed this book, but certainly had its sad moments.

Phew, that's it, all caught up. I find putting pictures into a blog post is the most time consuming, frustrating process. There has to be a better way. Maybe there is and I don't know about it!!!Then when you have it all spaced correctly and saved and you publish the post there are huge gaps all over the place. Drives me crazy!!

Bye for now.