Books, Books, I Gotta Have My Books!

Hi All!

First of all let me try out something from Ann - instructions on how to strike out text.

The title for today's post is courtesy of my dear Hubby. This is what he says every time I grab a book to read or look at the books in Wal Mart or Sam's Club. Knowing my passion for books, you can imagine just how frequently he says this quote to me! To tell the truth, it is annoying at times!

Anyway, I have been doing some reading (I know, I know, so - what else is new?). Here is the latest batch.

First is a book my friend J loaned me while I was in Ohio. It turns out that she and A (another good friend) both watch Jon and Kate Plus Eight like I do. When the three of us went out to dinner we spent some time talking about the show and low and behold, J had the book. I borrowed it first, read it (it is a quick read) and then took it over to A so she could read it also and, presumably, return it to J.



If you don't know, Jon and Kate are a young couple who have eight children, a set of twins and a set of sextuplets. Yes, that is a LOT of kids all at once. They have a regular television show in which the viewer is shown just how they manage with this large family.

In the book, written primarily by Kate, the beginnings are revealed. She talks about meeting and marrying Jon and how they decided to do the fertility treatments (and why) which led to the birth of their twins, Cara and Madelyn. Kate shares her feelings and responds to common criticism as she relates going through fertility treatments again and ending up with six babies.

This book is a fascinating look into something which most of us will never experience (hopefully!). It is a quick read and really gives you more insight into the family you see on television each week.

Next is another book by Harold Robbins. The Betsy is a very . . . . interesting book.

The main plot of the book centers around the auto industry during the early to mid 1900s and the desire of a very old man to create a new car to bring his company, Bethlehem Motors, back to life. Intertwined in the plot are many tales of lust, passion, infidelity, and intrigue.

To be honest, I must say that some of the language in this book shocked me. After all, this is another of the books from my GRANDMOTHER's house. The frequent use of the "f" word left me flabbergasted. My grandmother read THIS book? *gasp!*

Once past the shock of the language and the frequent side stories involving sex, the book is actually very interesting. I enjoyed reading it to the end to find out the resolution of the story as well as the resolution of conflict among the family which founded and continued to run Bethlehem Motors.

Not a bad read once you become used to the language and "extracurricular activities."

Last in the line up today is Dark Harbor by Stuart Woods. My aunt has been hounding me to read a book by Stuart Woods for several months now - maybe even a year or more. However, I have just not found his work in my clearance section at Half Price Books. Okay- to tell the absolute truth, I did find one of his books but they wanted $2.00 for it and that was twice my allowed budget of $1.00 per book.

Aunt D finally gave up and gave one of Stuart's books to my mother to give to me so that I would read it. I know she is waiting anxiously to hear my opinion of the book

Well, Aunt D, I give the book two thumbs up!

This book is a super read. It is filled with intrigue but isn't heavy and dense with details as many intrigue books tend to be. This book was surprisingly easy to read and the plot kept me reading rapidly along until the end. In fact, I finished this book on the plane back to Texas.

Stone Barrington, a lawyer and retired police officer, joins forces with some CIA operatives to investigate the death of his cousin who worked for the CIA and was found dead along with his wife and daughter. The deaths looked like a straight case of murder/suicide until Stone noticed a few problems. First of all, his cousin was right handed and was found with the gun in his left hand.

As the plot moves forward, additional clues pop up to indicate that this was not what if first appeared and Stone and his friends doggedly track the clues they can find. However, the motive and the killer are frustratingly elusive.

By the end of the book I had pretty much figured out "who dun it" but I still felt compelled to read the final pages to see if I was right. That is something I consider good writing, when an author can keep me hooked right to the last word on the last page.

Stuart Woods meets my criteria of good writing and I can tell Aunt D that I will be hunting down more of his books. It just might take me a while to find them for a dollar!


In other news, I walked (in the rain, thank you very much!) and did my weights this morning! YEAH! I also did ALL my massage and exercises yesterday! Another YEAH!

Trisha

Voice Update: YEAH ME! I did it! One day back on track! I am now shooting for two days in a row. Of course, one reason I am really working to get back on track is the sneaking suspicion that I have speech on Wednesday! My voice is doing really well even though I am not talking as much as I was over the holidays. I will keep on keeping on!