07/30/21
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General
Posted by:
Ann @ 4:55 pm
I’ve been trying to start this blog for the last eight hours. It has been the kind of day. First our computer guy who’s had some serious health issues for the last few weeks had time to do all the accumulated computer updates on my pc. That took a couple hours before lunch, then the medic alert I ordered a few days ago from Amazon arrived and needed charged. The activation and registration took more than an hour. Plus the Occupational Therapist from VNA was here to work with my husband this afternoon. My husband’s daughter from Switzerland is visiting for the first time in two years, (due to the pandemic), she’s an incredible help. Throw in a few short family phone calls…it’s been a busy day! My husband is doing so much better now than he was a month ago. Thank God!
We have not had to water our gardens due to the frequent and generous amounts of rain. The weather has remained warm though not like the dreadful heat waves of June. We spent a week at time share condos at Treasure Lake with my sisters and their husbands. My youngest brother and his wife came over for Sunday dinner, they are both still working, not retired like us oldsters. We enjoyed talking, laughing and spending time with various grandchildren and watching them interact and make friends with each other, their second or would it be third cousins? Even though it was a rainy week, we had sunshine for at least four or five hours everyday, except Tuesday, and that day we used the indoor pool and crafts with the grandchildren at the condo. The pool was wonderful and one of our highlights was a long boat ride on Treasure Lake with my sister’s son-in-law driving my daughter’s boat - as the sun sparkled off the water. The week passed far too quickly.
I’ve read only three books this month. Looking back, I wonder how I even found time to do that! I’m also in the middle of two more that I didn’t find time to finish yet- more about those two books next month.
Falling by T.J. Newman, thriller/fiction. Debut novel. Avid Readers Press, Simon & Schuster, Inc. 2021. WOW! This is not a book I’d recommend to anyone who is about to take a flight. The author was an airline stewardess for ten years, that experience provided her access to the nuances of the routines of the long haul flights and the working relationships between the onboard staff. Her what-ifs built this debut novel into a suspenseful edge-of-your-seat thriller. Authenticity, crisp descriptive writing with a great plot and characters you really care about- it’s s all there. Newman even manages to make the bad guys likable which of course complicates the story. A fantastic novel. Her biggest problem will be coming up with a strong second novel in the long deep shadows of the success of Falling.
We Must Be Brave by Frances Liardet. Historical fiction. 2019. Putnam. Rave reviews in enticed me to buy this novel at Walmart last week. It was a good read but I certainly was not dazzled as the The Guardian, (UK), said the reader would be. It is set in England from 1932 through 2010, though the novel actually begins in December 1940. It moves smoothly from one time frame to another and is easy to follow. The characters are well developed and very likeable. The English stiff upper lip spirit has been well researched and used through out the novel with great skill. The author takes still another view of how WWII effected the English citizens. Definitely a worthwhile read.
MURDER at Peacock Mansion, A Blue Plate Cafe’ Mystery, by Judy Alter. Murder mystery/fiction. 2015. Alter Ego Publishing. I’ve fallen in love with books by Judy Alter. I ordered this one from Amazon and was certainly not disappointed. It’s part of a series but can easily be read as a stand alone novel. Some of her characters are a bit quirky, yet they are believable and mostly likeable. The plot keeps you guessing and if you live in a city, her small town stories may just make you decide to try life in the slow lane. It’s good for light summer reading.
I was happily surprised to receive my copy of the summer edition of The Watershed Journal, An Extremely Local Literary Magazine and find my short story, The Callahan Sisters had been included. I’d completely forgotten about submitting it. It made my day!
We’ve not found another series we love enough to stream or been to any movies. But we’ve read about a few good movies that will soon be released.
I hope you all stay well and enjoy the rest of your summer.
Till next time, keep reading, my friends, it can bring peace to your soul.