My blog is fabulous!

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Jo-Jo over at Jo-Jo Loves To Read, presented me with this wonderful blog award.  Thank you 🙂  This is awarded to new bloggers or blogs that are new to me.  I received this a few weeks ago and passed it along to 3 bloggers, so this time I’ll pass it along to two who I have recently discovered.  So without further ado here are my nominees…

1. Meg at Write Meg!

2. Jenny at Jenny Loves to Read

They both have fabulous blogs and you should check them out!  Please pass this along to your favorite new blogs.

Time Traveling

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Since we jumped ahead in time this morning I thought I’d talk about some of my favorite time travel novels. 

Cover ImageMy favorite time travel series is by far the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  A WWII nurse walks through magical stones and finds herself in Scotland 200 years earlier.  This book has it all – love, war, death, hatred, jelousy, political intrigue…and yes, time travel.

Cover ImageI just read this book in January and loved it.  The narrator jumped ahead and saw what the world would become.  My review is here.

Cover ImageThis book, and series, is a childhood favorite.  The world of Meg, Charles, Calvin, and Mrs. Whatsit had me reading this book more than once as a kid.

Cover ImageI loved this outrageous book.  Arthur  and Ford’s galaxy tour was a laugh out loud riot.  I read the first few books of the series, but never finished it.  Maybe I should.

What are your favorite time travel novels?

The Rival, by Brenda Joyce

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Cover ImageFinished 3-6-09, rating 3/5, historical romance, pub. 1998

“Lionel was fourteen when he died.  It is impossible to say how he might look now, at the age of twenty-eight,” Garrick said

“Did Lionel die?”  The earl whirled from where he stood at a window.  It was raining yet again outside, and the gardens were shrouded in a wet mist.  “He vanished.  Without a trace.  Into thin air.  Or so you claimed.”

Chapter 12

It is 1760, West Sussex and Garrick De Vere  is a man set to become heir to his father, the earl of Stanhope.  As a child his older brother vanished and was long presumed dead.  After ten long years of banishment to Barbados, Garrick is summoned home to take his rightful place in society.  But society, and his fiance, view him as a murderer.

Lady Olivia Gray is married to hateful man and lives in seclusion at their country estate with her blind daughter.  They both have the gift of sight, able to see the future, see ghosts.  Olivia knows Garrick is innocent and the minute the two meet sparks fly.

After ten years, Garrick’s older brother and rightful heir, Lionel, returns home to take what is his.  But is it really Lionel?  Garrick doesn’t trust him although both of his parents welcome the prodigal son with open arms.

This is a different kind of romance.  First, the heroine is a married woman and the husband, although abusive, is still in the picture.  The typical sexual tension and falling in love pretty much takes place in the first third of the book.  The rest is about Lionel and finding a way to be together.  There are many subplots and characters that keep the story moving forward and they somewhat overshadow the love affair.  Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but unexpected.

I love Brenda Joyce, but this book fell a little short of her standard.  For me, the love story ended too soon and Garrick was not the greatest hero.  Also, there are many characters to dislike in this book, and none of them really get their due in the end.  I was excited to see who this Lionel really was and I really wanted Olivia’s husband and sister-in-law to be exposed for the awful people that they were. 

Overall, it was an interesting story, but not one I’d recommend.  Brenda Joyce has written so many books, but this may have been my least favorite so far.  But, to be fair,  I hold her to a higher standard.

Billy Budd, by Herman Melville

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Cover ImageFinished 3-4-09, rating 2/5, fiction, pub. 1924

Now there can exist no irritating juxtaposition of dissimilar personalities comparable to that which is possible aboard a great warship fully manned and at sea.  There, every day among all ranks, almost every man comes into more or less of contact with almost every other man.  Wholly there to avoid even the sight of an aggravating object one must needs give it Jonah’s toss or jump overboard himself.  Imagine how all this might eventually operate on some peculiar human creature the direct reverse of a saint!

Chapter 11

Billy Budd, called the Handsome Sailor because of his unmatched good looks, is an innocent soul on a warship full of hard men in the late 1790’s.  Through his genial and sunny disposition he wins them over, except for one.  John Claggart, the master-at-arms, showed Billy his smile, but secretly hated him.  This hate, born out of jealousy, would lead him to do an unthinkable thing to Billy and therefore seal his own fate.  Captain Vere, for his part in the story, tried to be fair, but even he was outsmarted by circumstance.

The story itself was good, but it was wrapped up in 114 pages of a hard to read draft.  This book was not published during Melville’s lifetime, and it did not see print until he had been dead for over 30 years.  The only other Melville work I’ve read is the short story Bartleby the Scrivener and I remember enjoying it.  Maybe I would have enjoyed this if it had been shortened.  Or maybe I just don’t appreciate Melville.  I almost gave up around page 10, but thought I could suffer through 114 pages.  I will remember the story itself, but do not plan on reading  more of Melville.

Ultra-Longevity:The Seven-Step Program for a Younger, Healthier You, by Mark Liponis, MD

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Cover ImageFinished 3-1-09, rating 3.5/5, health, pub. 2007

Aging is an autoimmune disease.  It is caused by your own immune system attacking you.Yes, that’s correct.  Aging is not a natural result of living too many years…

page 23

This book starts with a quiz.  Twenty-one questions determine how fast you are aging.  There are the expected questions about weight, smoking, and exercise, but then there are the unexpected questions about siblings, sex, jokes, and even about the time of year you were born.  Once I saw my score I immediately started reading the book. 

Just as our country’s defense system would be sorely tested if several invaders attacked simultaneously, so, too, when your body has to deal with many potential terrorists, the opportunities for breakdowns multiply.  This confusion leads to malfunction of the immune system, and that malfunction leads to bodily damage.

pages 55-56

The first section deals with your immune system and the many organs and cells involved in making it work.  This section is somewhat interesting and very detailed.  I don’t need that much information, but it is nice to have it explained in a relatively simple way.  This is also where he explains the CRP Test.  Essentially, this tests how active your immune system is and the less active the better.

The second section of the book discusses the seven steps you need to take to maintain a healthy immune system.  They are: breathing, eating, sleeping, dancing, loving, soothing, and enhancing.  I think it is interesting that he puts all of these areas side by side, with eating being equal to the others, not more important .  I thought this section was fun to read and easy to understand.  Who doesn’t like reading that a good sex life, singing every day, and massages can prolong your life? 

Many of these things aren’t new, but the immune system activation is a new way of looking at it.  I learned a lot and because some of these seven areas are easier than others you can start working right away on preserving your health.  It is a very holistic approach.

My main complaint is that is sometimes there is too much information.  I don’t need two pages about B-cells.  After a few paragraphs my attention starts to drift.  And while it’s nice to include studies to prove a point, they, too, can become  easy to skip over when there are too many.

Overall, I thought this was worthwhile and I took away lots of good information.  As for the quiz, I went back and decided what I needed to do to age at a slower pace, but because I live in Cleveland, am an only child, and was born in the fall, there are a  small number of things I can change.  But I’ll do what I can 🙂

Author Mark Liponis, MD, is the medical director of the Canyon Ranch Spa

Teaser Tuesday – Shantaram

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teasertuesdays3TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

  • Grab your current read.
    Let the book fall open to a random page.
    Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
    You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given    !
    Please avoid spoilers!

I told myself, as I watched the beating, that it was all too fast, that I was just dazed, and there was no time to react.  What we call cowardice is often just another name for being taken by surprise, and courage is seldom any better than simply being well prepared.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, Chapter 3

This is a big book and it will take me awhile to finish.  This isn’t the last time you’ll see it on a Tuesday 🙂

Cover Image

Free Books for March

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Leave a comment, tell me which book you want and I’ll get the book to you for FREE either by mail or personally if I’ll see you soon.  The first one to request each book wins.  These paperbacks have all been read a time or two, but are in very good shape.

Once you’ve ‘won’ the book I can get your shipping address if I need it.  Also, you can come back and get a free book every month if you want.

1. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe – old 1981 edition. great shape.  It’s a classic.  Especially great for the men in your life.  for Katie

2. Trail of Tears by Eileen Goudge – good women’s fiction. Review here.  for Renee

3. Lady Be Good by Susan Elizabeth Phillips – great romance with lots of humor.  Review here.  for Bridget

4. Chill Factor by Sandra Brown – she is a master of suspense.  Review here.  for Sharon

5. Left Behind by LaHaye & Jenkins – first of the series.  Review here.  for Drey

Thanks for helping me clear my shelves.  Happy reading 🙂

Photo Meme

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me-mom

Fleur tagged me for this photo meme

“Find your 5th photo file folder, then the 5th photo in that file folder. Then pass the meme to 5 people.”

This is me and my Mom last year on Mother’s Day before we went downtown to the Ritz for High Tea.  It was a wonderful day 🙂

I’m not going to name names, but if you have not participated already – give it a try!

9 in ’09 with LaConnie Taylor-Jones

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This Friday romance writer, LaConnie Taylor-Jones, joins me for 9 questions.  Last year I reviewed When a Man Loves a Woman, here.    You can visit her website at http://www.laconnietaylorjones.com/index.htm

LaConnie is a wife, mother of four, health educator, and author.  Somehow she found the time to fit in these 9 questions 🙂  Thank you, LaConnie!

1. When you wrote your first book, When I’m With You, did you know you would continue to write about the Baptiste family? Did you have future stories in mind for these characters?

Yes, I actually knew from the beginning that there would be at least four stories from the Baptiste Family. Since I’ve introduced them to readers, they’ve been well received and many readers have requested stories from some of the secondary characters. Only time will tell if this will happen.

2. I love a great romance, but sometimes the genre gets a bad rap. What is the most memorable reaction you have received when you told someone you are a romance writer?

First let me say, I ditto your sentiments. I love romance, too, both as a reader and a writer. A romance novel has the same characteristics as any other novel, except it centers on the love between two people, and provides an optimistic ending. The read is fresh, smart, and diverse.

The most memorable reaction occurred in late 2007 when I stood face-to-face with a person I’d recently met at a small gathering. After a few moments of polite introductory exchange, I casually mentioned that I’d recently published my debut novel.

“Oooh, so how exciting,” the person exclaimed.

With a smile, I nodded and said, “Yes, it certainly is.”

“So, tell me, what do you write?”

“Contemporary romance.”

There are no words in the English language to truly describe the flabbergasted expression on that individual’s face the moment I uttered those last two words.

3. I think it is hard to walk the fine line between too little and too much sex in a romance, but you did a great job in When a Man Loves a Woman. How difficult is it to know how much to put in and when to stop?

The answer to that question comes with an author truly understanding the genre they are writing in. If for example, an author is writing erotic, then it would include more sex scenes than a traditional romance. Most of my books hover between 300-310 pages and I usually include no more than three love scenes.

4. What is the best writing advice you have ever received?

The best writing advice came from my author mentor, Beverly Jenkins. She wisely said, “The only control you have is the story you write, so write the best darn story you can.”

5. What was your favorite childhood book?

Actually, there are two: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger.

6. I love quotes. Do you have a favorite quote or motto?

“Reach beyond the break.”

7. What are you reading right now?

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

8. If you got stuck in the life of one fictional character, who would you choose?

Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With The Wind. Despite her faults, this character showed a tenacity to succeed and perseverance to overcome the most difficult of situations.

9. And finally, what are you working on right now?

Currently, I’m working on the plot for an upcoming romantic suspense series.

Books by LaConnie- When I’m With You, When a Man Loves a Woman