The Magic of Ordinary Days

This is a very tender and sweet novel which takes place during WWII. Livvy is shipped off to marry a Colorado plains farmer, a man she has never met. Which in turn leads to her friendship of two Japanese girls and what she learns about life, herself, and trust.

I thoroughly enjoyed the history, the emotion, the sweetness of this book. I give it 3 3/4 stars. This is a pleasant read. And i just discovered that it has been made into a Hallmark movie. So if you don't want to read it, go check out the dvd.

Happy Mother's Day to My Mother-In-Law

Forget all those bad mother-in-law jokes. I have a great mother-in-law! Happy Mother's Day (a bit belated) to Grandma Carol. Thanks for all you do for us. And thanks for passing along great genes--see adorable and brilliant grandchildren (l to r Metta, Laney, Daysa).

Michael Connelly books

I've discovered a new author I really like. This guy ranks up there with Robert Parker. I don't know how I missed this author because he's been writing for a long time. Anyway I got The Brass Verdict as an ARC (advance reading copy) from the publisher. Sorry fellow readers, this won't be released until October 2008 but you can email me for my copy---first come first serve.

After I read The Brass Verdict I went looking for Connelly at the library and found Echo Park. I highly recommend both books. I give them both 3 2/3 stars!

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

4 Stars out of 4

This is such a cool book. I LOVE it. I've convinced everyone at work to go out and buy this and then carry it with them. I refer to it often! And I'm trying hard to get the 8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day in to my diet.

I got my copy at Costco for $11.00. Definitely four stars for valuable information, great pictures, well laid out format, and easy to carry.

I told you I love Robert Parker and I finished this one last night. This is one of his Spenser stories--he's my favorite of the Parker's three protagonists: Spenser, Jesse Stone, and Sunny Randall.

This book was only moderately OK. Definitely not one of his better stories. If you love Parker you have to read it so you can say you've read them all, but if you've never read Parker, don't start with this one.

I just got three new ARC (advance reading copies) from a publisher yesterday. Hopefully I can review one of them by Monday! Happy reading this weekend.

Books--Glorious Books!

So, I’m going to blog about what I love (besides my family). I love books. I love to read. I love to talk about books. I love it when you strike up a conversation with a stranger and the talk turns to books. What have you read lately? What's your absolute favorite? Sometimes I’ll be sitting on a plane and crying over a book and you’ll know another true book lover by the knowing look in their eye or the nod of understanding.


Some of my favorite childhood memories have to do with books. In the summer I would bike ride several miles to the library. Not many people my age, including my own brothers and sisters, wanted to be at the library in the summer. In the dim and cool bowels of the library I could feel the books. They would quiver as I walked up and down the aisles running my fingers along the spines and I could hear them calling "read me, read me." There is something about a library that has such a comforting feel and smell. I feel nostalgic now when I visit our little local library and I’m thrilled that my daughter takes her young son to the library.

So, jump in. Offer your comments, tell me what you love and don’t love. And especially tell me if you disagree with my reviews.

MESSAGE FROM LEISY

goodbye and farewell

We bid Laney and Taylor farewell this evening as they boarded the "megabus" to Chicago! They were only here for the weekend, but it was splendid. Today church was quite a riot. One girl in the ward told me that she saw me (actually Laney) and leaned over to her husband exclaiming, "Leisy is pregnant and really pregnant at that! how did we not notice it before?!". I thought it was hystercial! It didn't help that we wore similar outfits.
My primary kids LOVED it. One told her mom that it was "creepy"! Kids are so dang funny.
Besides the art museum and Pasta Fina, we just kinda hung out. I am posting this picture and laney will probably KILL me, but I just can't help it. We had quite a few giggle fits today. Laney told her Latvia appendectomy story at dinner (the sister missionaries were over and had requested it) and it just never gets old or unfunny. The worst of the giggle fits was in the car while we were waiting for the Megabus to arrive. This is where the picture comes in. We started giggling about giggle fits and then really got out of control when Laney started losing bladder control. She is almost 7 months pregnant and is somewhat excused, but it was insanely funny. We were all crying. The people in the car next to us must have had quite the show watching us all make fools of ourselves. Sisters are good for that (laughing and making you look foolish).
The week has been stellar, but we are ready to have our house back to ourselves! Zeb experienced EXTREME sensory overload and is completely off the semi-schedule he had. Let's hope he can make a speedy and full recovery so that Kent and I can get back to sleeping :)