Little Sis' September Reads Oh yes ladies, you already know my secret goth tendencies and fondness of the more macabre. I read all 3 Gillian Flynn novels this month, but in reverse. First, I read Gone Girl. Being in the industry, I can't help but see this one compete with Fifty Shades, James Patterson, & Hunger Games for the top spots. So of course I had to read it. What, a husband murders his wife on their 5th wedding anniversary? Of course I'd like it. This author knows how to put the Dys in Dysfunctional. I finished thinking it makes my ex look like a cupcake -- well, not really, but almost. I did enjoy it, it also jumps from one character's view point in one chapter to another in the next, as many novels tend to do these days. This is a L.S. recommended read, but take note, this author is not for the squeamish or ultra conservative. Next, I read Dark Places--did her brother really kill her family? This one touches on relationships, Satanism, murder, lots of dark subjects. Up my alley. Lastly, I read Sharp Objects. Someone has murdered little girls, and the protagonist (a journalist) returns to her hometown to cover the story. Did I mention dysfunctional? Whew, Ozzie & Harriet would be appalled. I really gotta get writing. Too many things I'd like to do! Paint, write, Photoshop, groom, and no time for all! So now I've begun You Don't Want to Know by Lisa Jackson. I am not a romance fan, but this is a suspense novel about a woman & her missing toddler. Of course, it started off bragging how rich she was and what a mansion she lives in, wow. We can all relate, right? Oh, have a child, that I get. So we'll see how this one goes. Welcome October!

What Makes a Tabby Cat

The part of the cat genome responsible for tabby markings in cats and cheetahs has now been uncovered:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/science/the-gene-behind-cheetahs-spots-and-tabbies-stripes.html?ref=science

Ya'll know how much I love my mackerel tabbies, a.k.a., my stripey girls.

Coffee Klatch

Who's coming over for some delicious zucchini bread muffins, heavy on the cinnamon?

Big Sister's August Reads - 2012 Edition

It was a good month - 12 books, plus several assorted magazines and LOTS of online blog reading...  I love it when I have the time to read a lot...  and not one Kindle book this month!!!  Not one!

Then Again, Diane Keaton - I started this several months ago, but didn't really get into it much.  I had some down time at the end of August and determined that I would finish this book, no matter what.  It was good, easy to read, but it took a while for me to get into it.  There's a lot of history at the start of the book, a lot of background about her parents.  Since I knew nothing about them, it caught my interest but it wasn't an easy read.  Then I got to the meat of the book, and Diane began including excerpts from her mom's journals.  Now THAT was interesting, to hear her in her own words...  Of course I was eager to read about all of Diane's great loves:  Al Pacino, Woody Allen, Warren Beatty...  She never married because, and go figure, the men didn't want to marry when she was with them...  It's more than just a celebrity bio, there's a lot of depth.  And the funny part - I never noticed that Anna Quindlen was a contributor until AFTER I finished the book!!!

Catching Fireflies, Sherryl Woods - One in The Sweet Magnolias series, this one has a special place in my heart, not because it's a particularly wonderful read (it's fine, I love Sherryl's sweet romances) but because the underlying theme is bullying.  I feel so very strongly about bullying and would love to work with children or with schools or with teachers to combat bullying.  I don't know why I feel so strongly; I had a pretty idyllic childhood.  I don't remember any particular trauma, no bullying...  But I feel as though if I were younger, it would be a calling, enough to lead me in a career path if I was to start all over.  This book is about teacher Laura Reed and pediatrician CJ Fullerton, how their lives intersect as they try to help a young girl in town.

I read (and will be reading) QUITE a few books by Susan Mallery.  You'll notice there are two series she's written - the stories are cute enough that I'll read them all...  I love to follow the same characters through several books; it's like you become a family...I'll lump them together here:

     Summer Days - Fool's Gold #7:  Heidi has put down roots on Castle Ranch and is quite happy raising goats, making cheese, making a home for herself after living a childhood on the circus route... No one, not even Rafe Stryker, will run her off her land.  UNTIL they find out "her" land isn't "hers" after all...

     Hot on Her Heels - Lone Star Sisters #4:  This is the last in the series and I actually read it first but it was okay.  Dana Birch has never been a girly girl, and in fact, she's the deputy in town.  Garth Duncan was a bad guy in the first three books, but eventually in this one, we see he's not all bad!  And of course, the not-so-bad-guy always gets his girl!  They met because he was dedicated to ruining Dana's friends' family (three sisters and their dad) because unknown to the girls, Garth was their father's illegitimate son and their dad (NOT a very nice guy) threw teen-aged Garth out of his house when the young boy came to save his mom, who was suffering from some sort of brain tumor and the insurance had run out.  Of course, being refused had tragic consequences and Garth has sworn revenge...

     Under Her Skin - Lone Star Sisters #1:  Lexi Titan has 30 days to come up with $2million to save her business.  Who knew the mysterious investor who helped her BUILD the business would call in the note with 30 days warning?  It's almost as if he were determined to ruin her...  But little did he know that Lexi had connections:  Cruz Rodriguez, a voice from her past, agrees to lend her the money...  as long as they can pretend to be engaged and she agrees to introduce Cruz to all her father's influential friends...

     Straight from the Hip - Lone Star Sisters #3:  Izzy Titan is blinded in a terrible accident on an oil rig where she was working.  She's sent home on medical leave and is eventually brought (against her will!) to a survivor training camp, which, by the way, only maquerades as a survivor training camp.  It actually serves a much more noble purpose:  a "dude ranch" for at risk children...  and Nick, her instructor, is determined to help her decide on sight-saving surgery while helping her adjust to her current blindness.  But WHY is he helping her?  She'd better not find out...

     Lip Service - Lone Star Sisters #2:  I finally finished the series!  Skye Titan left Mitch Cassidy for another man years ago.  But now he's home and he believes her daughter is his daughter!  There's immediate attraction, AND immediate anger and conflict between Skye and Mitch.  The best part of this book is that Skye learned to stand up for herself and take no crap from her domineering father...  LOVE that kind of character development:  God gave you two legs - stand up for yourself!!!

Odd Apocalypse, Dean Koontz - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Odd Thomas series!  It's an awesome blend of Koontz's traditional horror with an awesome soupçon of philosophy thrown in AND some of the best character development I've ever encountered!  I was always a fan of his books; even the "straight horror" titles always had a twist of some sort that was mindblowing (Mr. Murder, anyone?!?!?).  In this one Odd encounters the ghost of Nikola Tesla, who invented the "time machine" and all sorts of other wonderful inventions that play such a huge role in this book.  Did you ever wonder if there was an alternate universe, right here, and you were living there concurrently?  And did you ever wonder if anyone or anything could cross over from that universe to this one?  And would they be the same here as they are there?  (FYI, in past books he's met the ghost of Elvis Presley, and another one makes an appearance in this book:  Alfred Hitchcock, who I'm willing to bet will play a pivotal role in the NEXT Odd Thomas book...)

Sweet Talk, Julie Garwood - I'm a fan of her current fiction; I've moved away from the historical romance genre...  Who's scarier?  The FBI or the IRS?  I guess it depends on where you are in life, but in this case, Olivia's determination to bring down the bad guys who are benefiting from a Ponzi scheme that is just a little too close to home.  And Grayson Kinkaid, FBI, crosses paths with her on a different but related case...

Haven, Kay Hooper - LOVE the Bishop/SCU series!  Big twist at the end of this that I really didn't see coming!  Supernatural talents help these good guys solve crimes and find the bad guys, and in this instance, brings two sisters back together after years apart, before...  Nope, not giving it away!!!  Suffice it to say BOTH Emma and Jessie Rayburn are targets before the end of the book, and while one is very aware of her psychic abilities, the other?  Not so much...

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn - This is another example of one of those books getting SO much press that I was really determined not to read it, until a couple of blogger friends started ranting and raving about it...  They made it sound interesting, so...  (And it turns out Little Sister read it this month, too!!!  Just wait for her review!)  I'm going to do my best NOT to include any spoilers...  Let's see...  Boy meets girl.  Boy and girl get married.  Boy and girl are so very happy in NYC.  The economy tanks and boy and girl aren't so lucky any more.  Family tragedy brings boy and girl to Missouri (not exactly NYC).  Boy and girl are moderately happy there, adjusting to their new circumstances.  Or are they?  HUGE plot twist (another I admit I didn't see coming!) halfway through the book, and a surprise (to me!) ending!!!  REALLY makes me want to run over to school right now and give my awesome hubby a big hug!!! 

Middle SIster's August Reads

An interesting month for books, August was. Forthwith:

• Classic Elite Quick Knits by Classic Elite Yarns Quick Knits is a nice compendium of quick knit projects for knitters of all levels of experience. The hat and sock patterns are particularly nice, with a range from easy to intermediate patterns. Large-sized photos and information on yarn types and weights make it easier to substitute yarns. Although these were individually published in pattern books or the CEY newsletter, this would make a nice holiday gift.
• Walking Meditations by Nguyen Anh-Huong and Thich Nhat Hanh Thich Nhat Hanh is a Buddhist monk who has written and instructed lots of people on mindfulness walking. The text is a short and easy introduction to the concept of meditation walking. The accompanying DVD and CD instruct the walker who wants to engage more fully with nature and themselves. Apparently I wasn't in the right frame of mind to follow the CD, as I found the repetitive instructions frustrating at times, so clearly I need to practice my mindfulness walking more. I do wish they had not used the terms 'in-breath' and 'out-breath' for inhale and exhale, though; I found it grating and that may be why I had trouble focusing on the exercises.
• Face of the Enemy by Joanne Dobson and Beverle Graves Excellent mystery, first in the Wartime Mysteries series. Set in 1941 NYC, the story opens with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the rising hysteria within the city regarding invasions and spies blends well with the rising tension of the murder of an art dealer. Louise is a nurse from Kentucky, an exotic herself in the gritty Big Apple, hired to nurse the American professor husband of a Japanese artist. Masako, the artist, is arrested as an enemy of the state, and the night before she is arrested, the art dealer who decided to stop her show because of public anger, is killed. While the feds and NYPD fight over who has jurisdiction over Masako, Louise and Abe, a feisty lawyer, investigate the murder as they try to clear Masako and save her very ill husband's life. This has to have been the best galley I've read all year for Net Galley. The book is scheduled for release in September and I urge all fans of historical mysteries to read it. Beyond a good mystery and superb ambiance, and despite some distressing racial slurs, the attitude of several characters is mirrored in our current society's issues over Mexican-Americans and illegal entrants, and makes this a particularly thoughtful and timely mystery story.
• Drop Dead on Recall by Sheila Webster Boneham The wold of canine obedience trials is cutthroat, and this mystery captures that perfectly. When a contender for top obedience handler drops dead in the ring, 50-year-old Janet MacPhail, photographer and dog lover, hastens to help, and is drawn into a dangerous, murderous world. The author is a bit heavy-handed with her suspects, making it pretty easy to figure out whodunnit, but the grown-up romance between Janet and fellow dog-lover Tom is nicely and realistically portrayed, and gives all of us dog-loving women of a certain age hope, even if it is a fictional romance. Who knows? The author got the world of obedience trials and competition right; maybe she's right about middle-aged romance, too. Definitely a recommendation for dog lovers.
• Pets at the White House by Jennifer B. Pickens and Barbara Bush Lovely book showcasing the pets that have helped our First Families make the White House a home. The book begins with a brief review of the early presidents of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, but focuses on the presidential pets beginning with the Kennedy administration. A nice book for dog lovers and history buffs. Filled with great photos, both staged and informal. And it was nice to be reminded that even presidents I didn't vote for and disagreed with vehemently have a humane streak, and if they love animals, they can't be all bad, right? I just wish there had been more on the earlier presidents; Pickens has tracked down some interesting trivia, like Jefferson's parrot, so there must be other stories and information out there. 
• Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson Nice re-release of small knitted projects that would be nice for holiday presents. Patterns range from a scarf and mitts to a tea cosy, even a blanket. The section at the back on presentation and wrapping is nice, since the perfect gift needs the perfect package. Nice photos give good views of the projects from different angles.

Good Buddies

Mr. Big sends everyone a raspberry.

Big Sis' July Reads 2012

I did a lot of reading this month, contrary to Middle Sis...  It might well be one of my better months in recent history...  I guess since work is actually a bit slow, there's more time to read before, during lunch, and after work, and there were some good vacation days that were productive reading days, as well.

Enough blathering  ---  here are July's books...

XO, by Jeffery Deaver - I do love Jeffery Deaver.  I especially love his Lincoln Rhyme books and even though this was actually a book from Deaver's Kathryn Dance series, Lincoln made an appearance to help solve the mystery of the stalker following young singer Kayleigh Towne.  I love the idea of body language being used to help solve a mystery.  Personally, I rely a LOT on people's faces, their eyes, the sound of their voices, to help me make judgments when meeting new people, or when deciding if I believe them or not...

The Third Gate, by Lincoln Child - Oh, I had such plans to read this book and send it on to Middle Sis for her enjoyment.  After all, wouldn't she just L.O.V.E. a book about an archaeological team trying to locate the tomb of an ancient pharaoh in Northern Sudan?  The pharaoh who united Upper and Lower Egypt in 3200 B.C., whose tomb has been whispered about for years??  Yea, NOT.  The story itself was good, but I was disappointed in the writing.  It seemed a bit disjointed, more so than previous Child books.  There were some cool "special effects," and he came up with a great description of the scene, but it just seemed the usual character development wasn't there. 

Come Home, by Lisa Scottoline - Jill is getting married.  Well, she was until her ex-stepdaughter shows up on her front steps.  Jill's ex-husband is dead, and Abby, one of the two stepdaughters she lost contact with after the divorce, well she wants nothing more than for Jill to fix it all.  She wants to find out who killed her dad.  And although all signs point to it NOT being murder, some things just don't add up and we soon find there IS a mystery to solve.  What I liked the best in this book, and I don't usually credit this to Ms. Scottoline, I LOVED the feelings, the emotions.  Jill loved these girls like they were her own and they were ripped from her life as a result of the divorce, but she soon feels that love again, up front and personal, and her fiance has to come to terms with a child from Jill's past, actually, TWO children from her past...

15 Seconds, by Andrew Gross - Oh, yay!  This was a GREAT read!  It had tons of twists and turns, and it took quite a few chapters before I figured it out, and even then, even when you knew who the bad guy was, you still had to read 2/3 more of the book to figure out how their lives intersected, and then, THEN his daughter is kidnapped...  And that's ALL I'm going to say.  Read this suspense novel!  It was a great read!

The Line Between Here and Gone, by Andrea Kane - I met Ms. Kane at a lunch her publisher threw for her when I used to work at SDC.  She's a lovely woman and I've been a fan ever since.  Another Forensic Instincts story, we have a dying child, a mom determined to save her son, a missing father who doesn't know he's a father, the Mob, and several investigators who have special talents.  I will be reading every one of these (I think this is the second?) - I sure hope there are several more coming!

Between the Lines, by Jodi Picoult and Samantha VanLeer (Kindle edition) - Ms. Picoult's daughter Samantha came up with the basic premise of this story:  what if the characters in your favorite fairy tale actually had real lives outside the story you were reading?  What if things happened when the book was closed and you weren't reading it?  Could a character from a book come to life, in real life?  Ms. Picoult was intrigued enough to decide to work WITH her daughter to write this book.  In all honesty, I'm only halfway through it, so I can't say if the ending justifies the journey, but so far, while it's not one of Ms. Picoult's traditional novels, it's interesting enough to keep my attention and I'll be finishing it this week.  I'll update this entry with some final words later...

Backfire (an FBI Thriller), by Catherine Coulter - This series started off phenomenally well, then seemed to peter out a bit.  It seems to me to be a 50/50 chance that the book will be up to speed, or disappointing.  This one?  While it wasn't as good as the earlier ones, it was good enough.  A judge is shot, the prosecutor from a high-profile trial is missing, and Sherlock and Dillon Savich are called to San Francisco by the judge's wife (they're friends from a previous case), called to SF to hopefully find the person who tried to kill the judge.

I, Michael Bennett, by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge - Again, a great opportunity for an up and coming author to have another bestseller under his belt before he goes solo!  I like the character, NYC Detective Michael Bennett, dad to 10 adopted children.  Michael takes the kids and the nanny on vacation to the family cabin in Newburgh, NY.  Of course, a vacation can't just be a vacation or there'd be no story, but in this book, we deal with the attempted murder of one of Michael's boys, the developing relationship and almost demise of said relationship between Michael and Mary Catherine, the nanny, and loads of fast-moving action.

Midnight Promises, by Kay Hooper - Another in the Sweet Magnolias series, we meet Elliot and Karen, now married after meeting and falling in love in a previous novel as supporting characters.  He wants to invest their hard-earned and saved money in a business venture he really believes in, to make their lives better in the future.  He wants to adopt her children, who already love him like the father they never really had.  But Karen can't get over the memory of the debt her ex-husband left her in, where her children had to live with a family friend because Karen couldn't support them, where they had nothing, and nothing was a lot.  A series of misunderstandings, a family friend possibly suffering from Alzheimer's, everyday stresses... is love enough?

Summer Nights, by Susan Mallery - Fools Gold:  Book 8 - I haven't read 1-7, although I do think I read one or two of them because some of the characters and scenarios seemed familiara.  Shane wants a quiet woman, someone who will be content to be a rancher's wife.  A librarian, perhaps?  Annabelle has a history, and all she wants is passion and heat and overwhelming love, none of which she got in her first marriage.  Can this work?  (Hint, hint:  yes, it can, and it's fun watching the fireworks!)