Miss Cara Lou!

I’ll send you an e-mail, Cara, to get your address. I hope to make it to the post office sometime this week, so your book will be on its way very soon. And, for the rest of you, the good news is that you can still read The Book Thief for free, just by going to your local library. Speaking of my library love, tomorrow if you show your library card at your local Chipotle (if you have a local Chipotle) you can have a free burrito or bowl! Guess where I’m going for lunch tomorrow?

I hate that feeling I get when I finish a book that’s so good it makes me want to keep reading and I realize I have nothing waiting in the wings. I feel like I have quite the treasure trove of books to read now, so I won’t have to worry about that feeling for awhile. Thank you all so much for your recommendations!  I’ve already requested a few from the library. And thanks for the GoodReads friends adds too! Now I feel a little bit more popular :o)

This is mostly for my own reference, but maybe some of you will also find it helpful. I’m listing all the recommended books right here (with some additional comments from me, in italic)

Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Schienmann

London by Edward Rutherford

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Nature Photography Field Guide by John Shaw

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (recommended by my adorable nephew)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (I actually listened to this one on cd and really enjoyed it. I also liked his other book, A Spot of Bother)

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

The Nazi Officer’s Wife by Edith Hahn Beer

In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke

On Hitler’s Mountain by Imgard A. Hunt

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (two recommendations! And since Debbie has bossed me, much like I bossed everyone into giving me recommendations, I’ve already requested it from the library!)

Night by Elie Wiesel

Molokai by Alan Brennert

When Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holithe

The Kommandant’s Girl by Pam Jenoff

The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks (Melissa, if you like books about survivors, I highly recommend Endurance, by Alfred Lansing. It’s the true story of an exploration ship on its way to Antarctica, trapped in the ice and how they survived. It took place in 1914, and even pictures they took on their adventure survived. It’s a fascinating story)

The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (I’ve read this one too, and liked it, but not enough to rush out and read other books by the same author. I do like historical fiction, though, so I’ll probably read some of her others eventually)

Brother Cadfael books by Ellis Peters

First There is a River by Kathy Steffen

The Train to Estelline, A Place Called Sweet Shrub, and Dance a Little Longer…(A strong young schoolmarm in early day west Texas.) all by Jane Roberts Wood (This reminds me of another book I love, Letters of a Woman Homesteader, by Elinore Pruitt Stewart. It’s not fiction, however, but her actual letters to a friend after moving to Wyoming with her daughter. She eventually marries the man she works for, but also claims her own homestead. I love that tough-woman, can-do, self-sufficient pioneer spirit, and this woman has all those qualities.)

The Bare Naked Bride by anonymous (I can’t find this one anywhere Hatti, are you sure about the title? It sounds intriguing!)

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

These is My Words by Nancy Turner

Jim the Boy by Tony Earley

The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat

No County For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (I’ve read All the Pretty Horses, his stuff is good, but dark. I sort of liked the movie, but how can you actually like a movie like that? I don’t think that’s the right word. It was good but disturbing)

Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer

Quiet Please: Dispatches From A Public Librarian by Scott Douglas

In the meantime, I’ve also finished reading I am the Messenger, by Marcus Zusak, the author of The Book Thief. It’s quite different than The Book Thief, but it was so very good. I really liked it. I also read Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull. I liked that too, but some of the dialogue was a little stiff and it reminded me a bit of The Spiderwick Chronicles (the movie, I haven’t read the book or books?). But it was the first of a series, and I’m looking forward to reading the later books to see if the author has loosened up a little :o)

Read More

Due to my current allergy situation (and resulting grumpiness), I’ve not felt like doing much more than reading in he evening. A good book is definitely something that can cheer me up and make me forget about my snuffly nose. In the past I’ve tried to keep a list of what I’ve read and books I’d like to read, but my record keeping has been pretty sporadic. Recently I discovered GoodReads, which makes keeping track so much easier. If you join, please do feel free to add me as a friend. I think you can invite me using my lucy at heylucy dot net address. It’s so easy to find, add, and rate books. I’ve been adding books I’ve read over the last couple years here and there.

So, I thought I’d share some recent reads, and ask for some recommendations. I am waiting for a couple books to arrive at the library, but you can never have too many book recommendations to fall back on, can you? Speaking of the library, does your local library have their catalog online? I love that I can just go to the San Diego County Library website, find a book, and have it sent to my little local branch. If you haven’t tried doing that with your local library, I would suggest trying it out.

My first, and strongest recommendation is The Book Thief. Set in Germany during WWII, and narrated by the Grim Reaper himself, it’s the story of a young girl growing up during the Holocaust. There were so many great characters, and I don’t want to spoil anything, but I sobbed at the end of this one, and I’m not really one to cry when reading books or watching movies.

I also recently finished Water for Elephants, which is one of those books everyone has read and loved. I did like it, but I wouldn’t call it a five star read, but I’d give it a solid three stars. There were some quirky characters, which was a lot of fun, but the story itself was a little predictable, or at least as predictable as a story set on a circus train during the Great Depression could be.

Like most women, I love Jane Austen, and can’t get enough, but I’ve always drawn the line at cheesy fan fiction. So I was a little reluctant to give Pamela Aidan’s Darcy Trilogy a fair chance, but I have to say, I really enjoyed what she did with the character. The first book, An Assembly Such as This, covers the first few meetings between Elizabeth and Darcy during his stay at Netherfield. The second book, Duty and Desire, wasn’t nearly as good, mainly because there was so little Elizabeth. It started to veer into Gothic mystery territory, but luckily didn’t go all the way there. Then, the last book in the series, These Three Remain picked up the pace, and of course had all the really great stuff, so it was worth slogging through the second book to get there.

Finally, a quick little read that I really enjoyed was The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It’s a YA book, and I checked it out from the library on the recommendation of a friend. While not really a graphic novel, there are a lot of really lovely illustrations. This story of a boy living in the walls of a Paris train station, fixing the station clocks is a big, thick book, but only took about an hour to read.

And now, a surprise for those of you who have scrolled this far in this long, long post, since you must obviously like books as much as I do. I loved The Book Thief so much that I want to share my copy with another reader. It’s the copy that I read, so it’s not a brand new book, but if you don’t mind slightly dog-eared corners, hey, it’s free! Just leave a recommendation for one of your favorite books in the comments, and I’ll draw a name this weekend, and send it to the winner! So give me your recommendations! Do you like when I get all bossy? I can’t help it, I’m an oldest child.

Read More

I got a lampshade, so that’s one project down. I took my lamp with me to Lamps Plus, and tried a bunch of different styles, and I think I was right about the drum shape, and Keri was right about the burlap-y fabric. I still think I’d like a yellow shade, but I think I’d have to do that myself. Maybe one day I’ll get brave and recover this shade, but I’m enjoying this one in the meantime. It creates a really lovely glow in the room too.

I tried a white shade and it looked really horrible, it made the lamp look rather dirty.  I mean, I know it’s old and a little dinged up, but i love that about it. In fact, when the salesman came over to help me, he changed out the old harp for a new shiny brass one. Then he thought he was being so generous and offered to let me keep the new one for free. I didn’t bother trying to explain that I like the old, tarnished one much, much better, and please get that nasty shiny one off my pretty lamp. I just smiled and nodded, and changed it back as soon as I got home. I know it doesn’t even show with the lampshade on, I just don’t see why I’d need a new harp when the old one works just fine and the patina matches the lamp. There was also a lady at the store offering me advice on the shades that I was looking at, and she was all for me getting a bell-shaped shade because it was more feminine. She claimed to be an interior designer and I didn’t know how to politely tell her that despite the fact that my lamp is, in fact, quite flowery, I didn’t want it to be too frilly. I’m such a wimp that I bought my shade and walked around the perimeter of the store to get to the exit so she wouldn’t see that I ignored her advice. It’s so good to know that I can come here, to my blog and there will be you lovely readers who understand what I’m doing. Thank you!

I stuck to my Saturday plan pretty well, and finished reading Harry Potter late that night. It was a very satisfying read, and although the book has its flaws, overall I liked it. There were a couple deaths that were particularly heartbreaking, and I was feeling emotionally drained the rest of the weekend. If anyone wants to talk about it, add your thoughts to the comments, maybe we can have a book discussion there. I really need to talk about it! So if you haven’t read it yet and want to remain un-spoiled, stay away from the comments!

And now I have another request. If you have a moment, could you go here and submit my brother‘s name for unsigned Sunday? I would love to hear his music on the radio, and if he has more fans in San Diego, that means he’ll play down here more often, and I’ll get to see him more. That would make me happy! I’ll have a little thank you giveaway later this week :o)

Lucy approves of my lampshade choice too.

Read More

Tomorrow is the big day. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got it all planned out. I’ll be getting up early to take the husband’s car for an oil change and hope to be at the bookstore at 9:00 to pick up my book. This was an important strategy, as I can then demand that I not be bothered for the rest of the day until I have finished the book. I will then be heading to Starbucks or some other coffee shop with comfortable seating and something tasty to drink, and start reading. When I need a brief break, I’ll head to the beach or the park for more relaxing and reading, and when I’m hungry enough, it’s on to my favorite Thai restaurant for a bowl of the best Tom Yum soup and, of course, more reading. It’s a quiet, cozy place, so I should have no problem concentrating. The anticipation is just about killing me.

What will you be doing? 

Read More

I can’t post a blog entry without a picture, but I’ve got no pictures. I did get a few new Photoshop brushes, however, and have been playing around with them a little bit. I made a new banner, but I may need to work on it a little more. It seems just a little off to me somehow. At least the colors are bright and cheerful on this dreary day. It’s been snowing this morning, but by the time I get home from work tonight it should be clear and cloudless and the snow will probably be all gone.

My reading cycle has slowed a bit, but I always must have something to read, so I’m quite interested in this new website, Revish. You can go sign up now and possibly become a tester, and share book reviews and recommendations with others. I’m still finding my way around, but it’s sort of like Flickr for book lovers. Come and try it out!

I have a little bad news on the chicken front. It seems that the co-worker with the three chickens, one of which was General Tso, has yet another rooster. So tomorrow we’re going to switch out his Rhode Island Red rooster for another of my hens. I know it’s silly, but I just feel so bad disrupting our little flocks like this. They’ve got brains the size of peas, and so they have a day of big changes and re-adjusting their chicken hierarchy, and then they’re fine. I’m sure they don’t actually remember the trauma of it all, and just go back to scratching and pecking and pooping and sleeping, but I still feel bad about the whole thing. Luckily, their third hen has started laying eggs, so we shouldn’t have to go through this again. What are the chances, eh? I’m just hoping that the two roosters will be okay together. They were once before, obviously, so I’m hoping they’ll be able to live in peace and harmony again.

I mentioned in my anniversary post that I wanted to have a little Heylucy blog reader appreciation giveaway, and I’ve been getting a few things together, so come back this weekend, and all will be revealed!

Edit: It appears that Typepad doesn’t like paragraphs today. Does anyone have any idea why?

Read More