The Read-a-thon Begins

Good Morning, Readers!  I'm actually out of bed and set to read 30 minutes ahead of schedule....which probably means I'll fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon.   I'm reading solo, at least for the first eight hours, as Dave had to go to work.  


My reading list today includes:  

• A Killer Plot by Ellery Adams
• A Piggly Wiggly Wedding by Robert Dalby
• Gunn's Golden Rules by Tim Gunn
• Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop, edited by Otto Penzler
• The Prostitutes' Ball by Stephen J. Cannell
• Snow Day by Billy Coffey

My participation in today's read-a-thon is in memory of my best friend, Wanda, who passed away six years ago after a long bout with leukemia.  Wanda loved to read and always carried a book in her massive suitcase of a purse.  Reading racy romances got her through many, many chemo treatments.  She would have adored the read-a-thon with a cup of tea or a glass of blackberry merlot.  So in her honor, I have my favorite coffee cup which was a gift from her - it's all pink and flowery and says "Friends Are Special People" - my breakfast, and a stack of books and I'm retiring to the couch for my first hour of read-a-thon fun.

Reminder: It's Read-a-Thon Weekend

Don't forget to join Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon tomorrow.  Reading begins at 6:00 a.m. in my time zone (Mountain), but the chances of me being up at that hour on a Saturday are slim.  My hope is to read at least twelve hours - beginning whenever I can pry my eyes open.  I also hope to limit myself to 15 minutes of each 2-hour period for blogging/mini-challenges, and 15 minutes per 2-hours for housework (I know - but it's my only day off and the floor is about to disappear under a coat of dog hair and we're gonna need clean socks again at some point.) 

Happy reading to all the participants.  If you've never joined the read-a-thon, give it a shot - even if it's just for a few hours.  It's a great way to share the love of reading.

A Christmas Snow by Jim Stovall

For Kathleen, Christmas has always been an unwelcome reminder of her father s abandonment almost 30 years ago. Although she has tried to forget her past, it has not forgotten her, and in the days leading up to Christmas an unforgiving blizzard traps her in her own home with two unlikely roommates. Sam, a gentle older man Kathleen took in for the night and Lucy, the daughter of her soon-to-be fiancé, bring her face to face with the hurts of her past. Will she be able to let go and grab hold of a life-changing forgiveness or will she continue to be haunted by the pain of the past? (publisher's synopsis)

This book grabbed me from page one.  Not the story - the actual pages.  Each one has a backdrop of delicate, pale blue snowflakes.  How can you not love a story written on snowflake paper?  And the story was good, too. 

A thirty-something woman and a 10-year-old girl, both hurting from the loss of a parent, are forced to spend Christmas together, trapped by a blizzard.  The story is touching, as a Christmas story should be, but it also teaches a lesson of healing.  Each of the activities Kathleen, Lucy and Sam create to occupy the time and make make their cramped quarters more festive, stir up memories for all of them and help them move past their pain and fears.  A magical twist lifts this tale above the average Christmas schmaltz. 

After you fall in love with the snowflake pages, try this site to create your own gorgeous snowflakes.  Warning - it's addicting!

Schmucks: In Film and Print

Just from looking at the pictures, you probably wouldn't think that there is a connection between the movie, Dinner for Schmucks, and the book, Chesapeake Shores Christmas, by Sherryl Woods - but there is.

Dave and I saw Dinner for Schmucks last weekend.   I knew that any movie starring Steve Carrell would probably be what I call "guy humor" or just "stupid humor" (for examples, see any movie Will Farrell or Adam Sandler ever made), but Dave - being a guy - likes that type of humor, and I just like going to the movies. 

In this movie, Tim, a young executive looking for a promotion, is invited to a "Dinner for Idiots" hosted by his boss.  Each executive brings a guest - the biggest schmuck they can find.  The guests are told it is a dinner for "exceptional people".  If Tim brings the biggest schmuck to the dinner, he will be rewarded with a bump up the corporate ladder.  Convinced by his girlfriend that this is a nasty way to treat people, Tim is prepared to turn down the invitiation...then he meets Barry.  Barry is an IRS accountant and part-time taxidermist.  He makes vignettes of famous scenes from history and literature, using mice that he finds on the street and stuffs.  He's the perfect schmuck!  As the story progresses, Barry moves from sad, lonely oddball to annoying half-wit to so ridiculously moronic that you just want the movie to end - regardless of HOW it ends - so he will go away.  At one point Dave said "I want to crawl into the screen and strangle this guy.  Why has no one killed him?"  And therein lies the basis for the connection to the O'Brien family in Chesapeake Shores.

Chesapeake Shores Christmas is fourth in the Chesapeake Shores series.  I have not read any of the first three, and perhaps my sympathy level for the characters would have been higher if I had, but I don't think so.  Megan O'Brien left her neglectful, tyranical husband after nearly twenty years of marriage, and lost touch with her five children in the process.  Now, years later, Megan and ex-husband Mick have reconciled and are planning a New Year's Eve wedding.  The problem is, Megan wants the childrens' blessing on the reunion, and son Connor is not willing to forgive her yet.  Megan also wants to start her own business, with no help from Mick, who insists on stepping in.

The plot is sound and offers lots of fodder for a touching Christmas story.  Unfortunately, the Christmas portion of the story consists mainly of carrying decorations down from the attic and untangling lights.  By two-thirds of the way through, I was echoing Dave's words at the movie - "I want to crawl into the page and strangle these people!"  Someone really needed to give this family a major attitude adjustment and a little advice to "grow up!"  

I wouldn't recommend spending time or money on either of these tales, but perhaps if you've read earlier Chesapeake Shores volumes, you'll have more tolerance and understanding for the characters than I did.

Painted Ladies by Robert B. Parker

This was a bittersweet read:  one more visit with Spenser, Susan and Pearl.  On the sweet side, this story is one of the best of the recent Spenser episodes.  Through thirty-nine books, spanning more than 35 years, Spenser has grown from a hard-knock, street-smart P.I. to a well-read, cultured, sometimes-sensitive investigator who can still hold his own in a fist-fight.  His quick wit and charm - not to mention his cooking skills - make him one of my all-time favorite characters. 

The bitter comes from saying good-bye to such loved characters.  Mr. Parker passed away in January, 2010, so this will necessarily be our final chance to spend time in Spenser's Boston.  I wish for one more glimpse of Hawk, Spenser's favorite co-hort and friend but, alas, he was out of the country during this caper.  However, I like the fact that this wasn't written to be the close of the series, with all details attended to and lose threads neatly tied.  We are left to imagine our own future for Spenser and Susan.

Painted Ladies elicited both amusement and melancholy. If you are a long-time Parker fan, you'll love this last installment.  If you've never met Spenser, dive into the series anywhere and fall in love.  This is one instance when I'm glad I have read the series out of order - there are still some older Spenser adventures for me to catch up with, but the literary world is slightly dimmer for the loss of Robert Parker and Spenser.

First Blogiversary

Today marks one year since we fired up this blog and reviewed our first book.  Over time the blog has expanded to cover random thoughts and happenings in our lives, but the main focus is still books.  Our hope was to share our new-found love of reading together and encourage others to do the same.  We're both lifetime readers, but sharing a book by taking turns reading aloud was a new found joy.  Since Oct. 2, 2009 we have shared fourteen full-length novels and four novellas.  Our goal for 2010 was one per month and we are at ten so far, one ahead of the game. 

In honor of our first year of reading together we invite you all to stop by our house and select the book of your choice from our overcrowded shelves to help us thin down our library.  But seriously folks, we do want to thank you for stopping by on occasion.  We love all the friends we've made in the blog world.  Even though you don't hear much directly from Dave, believe me, he's skulking in the background keeping up on everything.

We renew our challenge that we made back in January: Find someone special, and read together.  Take turns reading aloud, read to someone with a visual impairment, read a school-assigned book with your teen, volunteer to read to nursing home residents. If you aren't comfortable reading aloud, pass the book between you, with each of you individually reading a chapter or chosen number of pages at a time. However it works for you - the idea is to be involved in the story simultaneously. And then discuss what you're reading.  For every book you share, stop here and leave us a comment to enter in the prize drawing.

Thanks for making our first year so enjoyable.  Ya'll come back now, hear?

Call Me Mrs. Miracle

I know it's barely October, but the Christmas books are starting to arrive at the library.  This one actually showed up in September and I just couldn't resist the gorgeous artwork or the early twinge of Christmas sprit. 

This Christmas, Emily Merkle (call her Mrs. Miracle!) is working in the toy department at Finley's, the last family-owned department store in New York City. And her boss is none other than…Jake Finley, the owner's son. 

For Jake, holiday memories of brightly wrapped gifts, decorated trees and family were destroyed in a Christmas Eve tragedy years before. Now Christmas means just one thing to him—and to his father. Profit. Because they need a Christmas miracle to keep the business afloat.

Holly Larson needs a miracle, too. She wants to give her eight-year-old nephew, Gabe, the holiday he deserves. Holly's widowed brother is in the army and won't be home for Christmas, but at least she can get Gabe that toy robot from Finley's, the one gift he desperately wants. If she can figure out how to afford it…
 Fortunately, it's Mrs. Miracle to the rescue. Next to making children happy, she likes nothing better than helping others—and that includes doing a bit of matchmaking!
(publisher's synopsis)

The story of Holly taking care of her nephew while his widowed father is in Afghanistan is touching and very well developed.  The changes they go through as they each learn to adapt to their new lifestyle are very natural and realistic.  They become a family that you really root for.

Jake and his father's story is slightly less believable.  The premis that Jake's decision to purchase 500 robot toys may financially endanger the store is mentioned in the synopsis, but never developed in the actual story, at least not as the crisis foreshadowed.  Similarly, Jake and J.R.'s refusal to celebrate Christmas because of personal loss many years ago is not explored as deeply as it could be and makes them, especially the father, come across more as a grumpy old man than as a distraught husband and father.   Their half of the story is rather lack-luster.

And of course there's our heroine, Mrs. Miracle.  She's a jewel!  Her gentle, unruffled spirit puts you in mind of every wonderful grandma stereotype you've ever heard.  You just fall in love and want to spend more time with her.  Somehow I missed the first Mrs. Miracle book last Christmas, but it's on order so I can get another dose.  Both books are now Hallmark Channel movies starring Doris Roberts - the perfect Mrs. Miracle.  I hope they'll be re-running the first one this year so I can catch up. 

If we're going to spend any more time together on this blog, you might as well know - I'm a Christmas freak.  I listen to Christmas music at least four months out of the year (sometimes more).  I watch nearly every sappy Christmas movie on tv, repeatedly.  I'm addicted to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  It's really kind of sad, but that's me.  This story may not make my re-read list every year and, yes, you can predict some aspects of the story by page 20, but it was fun.  A firm 4 out of 5 stars with a sprinkling of colored sugar.