Here Be Dragons. Finished 1-9-17, 4.5/5 stars, parenting, 204 pages, pub. 2016
Before our three kids, we had been decent people. Interesting even. One of us had taught Shakespeare to gang members while the other flew reconnaissance missions off North Korea. But our own children had proven our biggest challenge. We were passionate and service-driven folks, except we were not demonstrating this to our kids. We spent so much time trying to be good parents that we forgot to be good people. Something had to change.
Two parents challenge one another to find balance between work and family life. Their stories are both uproarious and poignant as they raise children and strive to leave their mark on the wider world. Filled with tender moments and plenty of laughs, Here Be Dragons recounts the adventures of a family trying to stay afloat, and offers a life raft to the rest of us in choppy waters. from Goodreads
When Annmarie emailed me about reviewing the book she had written with her husband it was plum luck that I read it. I confess that I am a book blogger who very rarely opens up requests from people I don’t know. For some reason I clicked it open and saw that that it was being published on my birthday and that Annmarie and her family live in the Cleveland area so I asked her to send me a copy. What fun it was to read about Annmarie and Ken’s journey to parenthood and beyond. I don’t usually use an author’s first name unless I know her but after reading the book I feel like I do and you will too.
Annmarie and Ken met in college and were friends who eventually saw a future together. Both independent and driven they each sought to make a difference in the world, sometimes that meant they were in the same place on a map, but often it didn’t. They married and had kids. Usually this is where the story would become all about raising baby and how life stopped, but that isn’t what happened. Amidst the trials of being a first-time stay-at-home mommy (been there and Annmarie made me laugh with her spot on observations) Annmarie and Ken still strived for more adventure, more purpose.
Their search for adventure and purpose has led them to live from coast to coast and in Ken’s case continent to continent, again, sometimes together and sometimes not. More babies came but that didn’t stop them from moving when they felt called to do so. They spent several years in the village next door (the one I’m always trying to convince Jason we need to move to) before heading to California with three kids and a packed car.
These are two parents trying to teach their kids what it means to be fully engaged by living a fully engaged life themselves. Their giving spirits come through loud and clear. They show the ebb and flow of a marriage with kids and they do it with warmth and humor.
The book is told in alternating voices. They are both skilled writers so the book is beautifully written. If you google them you can find links to some of their writing (Annmarie has quite a few pieces I loved on Huffington Post). They also have a blog.
Ken spends a chapter or so writing about his time with Team Rubicon. They put veterans to work in disaster areas and it looks like a great program that would do good things with a donation.
I really liked this one and think any parent will too. They have given me inspiration to do more (and move to Chagrin Falls ;)).
Who knew that when I published my first post here that I would still be around nine years later talking about books, movies, trips? Not me that’s for sure. I think that years 2-4 were the most successful ones. I was active in the book blogging community and I had time to visit my blogger friends EVERY DAY. Times have changed and bloggers have come and gone, but there are many of you who have been here since the first few years and I appreciate your friendship so much. Thanks for sticking around and being a part of my on-line, and often real, life.
I plan on another great blogging year with the admission that the weekly quizzes are gone for the forseeable future. I think it’s fun, but it takes up too much time. I’m not sure how I’ll replace them but I’ve got some ideas 🙂
Here are my favorite pics from each year of blogging. Tell me if you have a favorite. I may use it on my front page this month.
It’s been awhile since I posted about the albums from this book (Over a year. Yikes!). I’ve only managed 25 more, but after I post this will put some more on hold at the library.
Two summers ago I started using this book as a guide to explore music with my son. Gage has been a part to some of the journey, but not all. I try to play at least parts from every album for him, except the explicit ones, and some he likes and some he covers his ears. He is probably more discerning than I am. This post is more for me than you because I know that these lists can get boring, but feel free to comment if I’ve listened to a favorite of yours (whether I liked them or not :)). Happy listening.
I’ve decided to list them in the order I liked them best. If you click on my favorite song on each album it will take you to the video.
Each year Sheila at Book Journey hosts First Book and First Word. I’ve done the First Book for a few years and here’s this year’s selection…
Here be Dragons:A Parent’s Guide to Redicovering Purpose, Adventure, and the Unfathomable Joy of the Journey by Annmarie Kelly Harbaugh and Ken Harbaugh. Annmarie contacted me in October to read the new book she had written with her husband. I saw that she was local and decided to take it. I started it in November, but since I was writing a book (NaNoWriMo) I was wasn’t devoting much time to reading. I decided to table it until the new year and here we are. I will be picking it up on page 53, after she’s had her first baby and decides she needs to go back to work. The book is good and the Harbaugh’s sound like the couple everyone wants to be friends with (hey, we’re local so who knows? ;)).
One Word is something Sheila does every year and I’ve always been intrigued by those who could decide on just one word. In the last week or so a word came to me and I’m going with it. Those who know me or follow me on Facebook or Twitter know that the election in November saddened me for so many reasons. I think we are in for a tough, long four years, BUT in a way it also opened the door for me to become passionate again. I plan on using Facebook and Twitter to highlight my word every day this year.
I want to live an INSPIRED life. I want to be inspired by God, my country, my community, my family and friends, and myself. I want to weed out the noise and negativity and look around that the good that is happening all around me. When I see an injustice or a problem I don’t just want to complain about it. I want to find the people who are doing something about it and become one of them. I want to look outside at the beautiful earth we live on and be inspired to be a steward. I want to be inspired by those who know God. I want to find those changing the world and support them. At first it seems that inspired can be a passive word, but if you are truly INSPIRED you will be changed and have the power to inspire those around you.
What’s your first book of the year? And did you choose a word this year? Why not be inspired along with me?
I watched 41 movies. That’s way down from 54 last year, probably due to our new 30 Day challenges.
I wrote 2Book vs. Movie posts (The Blind Side, Still Alice), reviewed1 of my 100 favorite movies (#29 Serendipity), tried to get a few movie features going but failed due to lack of time and effort, and continued my 5 word movie reviews asking for your participation. Please consider adding your thoughts to these reviews since they count towards money for charity, maybe even yours!
January was the month I saw the most movies with 7.
2016 was my most watched movie year with 13.
Sadly, Hope Floats (1998) was the oldest movie I watched. I love old movies so I expect this to change next year.
Cutest Couple – Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. in Hope Floats.
I usually list the movie I hated the most, but this year there were 2 movies I hated and they were BOTH Nicholas Sparks movies. Message in a Bottle and the worst of the worst, The Best of Me.
Every year I list my 5 favorite movies of the year, but this year I’m adding a category with just one movie in it. I can’t call it a favorite because it devastated me, but it was the best movie I saw this year.
Okay, this is the last one for 2016 and I’m hoping you can help me move that number up. If you haven’t seen these movies but want to scroll the past year and add your 5 words we could get to $100 by tomorrow. Scroll here.
Another month and another chance to contribute money to charity. Add your 5 words (or less!) to mine in a comment and earn $1 for charity. Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity. Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and the other reviews you can add to. Anyone is welcome to join in at any time.
We’re at $37.
I hope that you will take a few minutes to participate when you can each month. It’s fun for me and for everyone else who reads it. I’m not looking for a critical review, just a few words about how you felt about the movie. This is ongoing so you can leave your 5 words anytime.
Manchester By the Sea, 2016 (Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol) Grade A
Devastatingly raw Oscar worthy drama.
No Strings Attached, 2011 (Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes, Lake Bell, Mindy Kaling) Grade B
Cute leads pull it off.
Waffle Street, 2015 (Danny Glover, James Lefferty) Grade B
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Bleachers– John Grisham. Grisham is usually reliable, if not great at least a fun read, but this one did nothing for me. And it was about football, which I love!
3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
Ethan Frome– Edith Wharton. I love when classics surprise me like this one did.
I Am not a Serial Killer – Dan Wells. I was expecting to be wowed by this child serial killer wanna be, but the book jumped the shark in the middle and never quite recovered for me.
4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
The Sparrow– Mary Doria Russell. I pushed my book group to read this and it was a little out there for them. It was a reread for me and though I still loved it, it wasn’t as much as the first time almost 20 years ago.
5. Best series you started in 2016? Best Sequel of 2016? Best Series Ender of 2016?
After You – Jojo Moyes. Loved revisiting Louisa and finding out how she fared after Will.
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2016?
Sara Gruen, Hester Young, Susan Mallery
7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Dear Almost: A poem – Matthew Thorburn. I’m no poetry buff but I am glad that I read this poem written by a father after his wife’s miscarriage.
8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Home & Fool Me Once – both by Harlan Coben. He’s my go to guy for unputdownable books and he didn’t disappoint with his two this year.
9. Book You Read In 2016 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
None of them. Although I will probably dip into I Dare Mefrom time to time for inspiration. This reporter tried something new every day for a year!
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2016?
I could choose lots of passages from Living Buddha, Living Christ– Thich Nhat Hanh but I think this is so relevant in today’s political climate.
Professor Hans Kung has said, “Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world.” People kill and are killed because they cling too tightly to their own beliefs and ideologies. When we believe that ours is the only faith that contains the truth, violence and suffering will surely be the result”…”Do not think the knowledge you presently possess in changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others’ viewpoints.” To me, this is the most essential practice of peace.
25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – John Tiffany, JK Rowling, Jack Thorne. Loved being a muggle looking in into Harry Potter’s World once again.
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2016?
A Housefly in Autumn – Scott Nagele. I loved this book written by a former B&N boss. It was really good and I’m not ashamed to say that I shed a tear once or twice.
At Wolf Ranch. Finished 12-25-16, rating 3.5/5, romance, 358 pages. pub. 2015
Book 1 in the Montana Men series
After years on the rodeo circuit, Gabe Bowden wants nothing more than land of his own and a woman who will claim his heart for more than one night. When he has the chance to buy the enormous Wolf Ranch spread, he snaps up the incredible deal. Everything is set, until Gabe rescues a woman on the deserted, snowy road leading to the property, and the half-frozen beauty changes everything.
Ella Wolf rushes to her family’s abandoned Montana ranch after her twin sister is murdered. She knows she’s next . . . unless she can uncover a secret hidden somewhere at Wolf Ranch. The last thing Ella expects is to be rescued by a rugged rancher with his own agenda. A man who almost makes her forget how dangerous love can be. from Goodreads
I am not a big fan of cowboy stories. Maybe it’s that I haven’t read many? I’m a city girl. When a friend recommended that our families go camping together recently Jason laughed out loud and then shared my feelings on tents, spiders, running water…my only saving grace was that I loved s’mores by the campfire. Anyway, this is not a book I would have picked up to read, EXCEPT that I met author Jennifer Ryan at the Avon event last month and she was wonderful. I got the book signed by her and dove in. I was pleasantly surprised.
Ella is an uber rich NYC girl who witnesses her twin sister being murdered by her uncle with a policeman there backing him up. This is the opening scene of the book. She hightails it to Montana and her family’s ranch only to be left for dead and rescued by a cowboy.
Will she avenge her sister? Will she and the cowboy have lots of sex? Does she have more money than Oprah? All of these questions and more will be answered (well, you’ll have to do the math on the Oprah one)
I liked it and thought Ella and Gabe were a good couple, almost too good. I don’t know when or if I’ll continue with the series but if you like sexy cowboys I recommend this one 🙂
The Silent Wife. Finished 11-22-16, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2013
Unabridged audio read by Karen White and Donald Corren. 9 hours.
Jodi and Todd are at a bad place in their marriage. Much is at stake, including the affluent life they lead in their beautiful waterfront condo in Chicago, as she, the killer, and he, the victim, rush haplessly toward the main event. He is a committed cheater. She lives and breathes denial. He exists in dual worlds. She likes to settle scores. He decides to play for keeps. She has nothing left to lose. Told in alternating voices, The Silent Wife is about a marriage in the throes of dissolution, a couple headed for catastrophe, concessions that can’t be made, and promises that won’t be kept. Expertly plotted and reminiscent of Gone Girl and These Things Hidden, The Silent Wife ensnares the reader from page one and does not let go. from Goodreads
I read comparisons to Gone Girl, a book I had a love/hate relationship with, and decided to give it a try because I was in the mood for a thriller. It was…different.
Both Jodi and Todd are for the most part unlikeable. Todd is a womanizing cheater and Jodi knows it but stays anyway. After twenty years, Todd finally makes a mistake that will change their status quo and Jodi can’t accept it.
I went through a whole range of emotions with both of these characters. While neither were likeable, each had their moments of being more sympathetic than I was expecting, so there were those little surprises that made this, in some ways, more enjoyable than Gone Girl. Quieter, but just as twisted in a more cerebral way.
I liked it. When Jason asked me if he should give it a listen, I hesitated. If you like the more introspective thrillers that deal with ugly topics then, yes, this book is for you. When I told him this he decided to skip it, but that doesn’t mean you should.
Here Be Dragons. Finished 1-9-17, 4.5/5 stars, parenting, 204 pages, pub. 2016
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