angela_o

I'm back from Ireland and the house was still standing when I arrived. Praise to the saints! Of course there was a veritable Everest of laundry to help keep it upright, but all in all things on the homefront weren't nearly as chaotic as I'd pictured them possibly being while I was a away. More on the trip later. In the meantime, here's a book update to tide you over.

#90 Out of Control by Suzanne Brockmann

#91 Into the Night by Suzanne Brockmann

#92 Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann

#93 Possession by A.S. Byatt

#94 Gone Too Far by Suzanne Brockmann

#95 Flashpoint by Suzanne Brockmann

#96 Breaking Point by Suzanne Brockmann

#97 Hard Target by Suzanne Brockmann

Yes, one of those things is not like the others. lol

Now that school's back in session, I'm on the run a lot more. Between shuttling kids to school, E's cross country practice, J's Young Women's activities, M's Cub Scouts, N's play dates, my Parent Liasion responsibilities, and my freelance work, life has been a little hectic lately. But, the schedule is starting to work itself out a little. It's definitely easier to plan when you know what all the expectations are.

Tonight I'm going out to an upscale French restaurant with my college roommate to celebrate our birthdays. She's in July and I was in August. We planned to do it last year when we both turned 40, but it never quite came together. So, we'll be celebrating 41 instead. We're supposed to get very dressed up and I'm still in deciding mode as to what to wear. I'm thinking it might be time to take out the black and white geometric cocktail dress that I picked up a couple of years ago at a resale store. Yes, that might just be the ticket.

#84 is Shamus in the Green Room by Susan Kandel. This is the third Cece Caruso mystery novel. For some reason, this one didn't hold my interest as much as the previous two did. I'm not sure if that's because I was more distracted or if it was due to the story.

#85 is The Giver by Lois Lowry. This was a book for my Book Group. We did two this month, The Giver and Night. There was some interesting discussion about memory and its importance as well as how our feelings and perceptions inform our humanity.

My new DVR/DVD player arrived and is now hooked up. I need to read through the instruction manual (and why is it that those always seem to be written in another language and badly translated into English) and give it a test run so that it's all ready to start recording next week for premieres as well as while I'm away in Ireland the following week. Wouldn't it be nice if electronics would do what you wanted without all that pesky programming stuff? ;)

Now, it's time to get a few household related chores done before I have to go pick kids up from school. I'm so looking forward to sleeping in little in the morning!

I'm happy to report that our travels were uneventful. Traffic was even less than usual so we made good time. J's 13th birthday was celebrated with appropriate elan and I had fun catching up with my siblings and my parents. I even got a few early birthday gifts as well. :)

I also managed to get a few more books read.

#79 was a book my mother wanted me to read. It's called Past Lives, Future Healing: A Psychic Reveals the Secrets to Good Health and Great Relationships by Sylvia Browne. I'd never heard of the woman, but my mother finds her fascinating. I certainly don't buy into all the theories presented, but the case studies were interesting reading.

#80 was Deerskin by Robin McKinley. A loosely based retelling of an obscure Perrault fairytale. It was a fairly engrossing read that straddles the line between fantasy and reality. It also dealt with some fairly harrowing subject matter. I stayed up late reading it if that's any indication of my enjoyment level.

#81 was Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris. This was the latest Sookie Stackhouse book which I'd had on hold forever at the library. It finally came in and I stayed up way too late last night reading it. I know that other people were meh about it, but I liked it. Perhaps it's because I don't expect too much from them going in and much as I love Eric, I like the new guy. I do think that I may have missed the book prior to this one though so I may have to rectify that oversight.

100 should definitely be doable by the end of the year. Anyone care to guess how many they think I'll end up with by 12/31?

In other news, the kids went back to school today. I think that this is the first time in my life that I haven't been excited for school to begin. Part of it is my anxiety about E starting high school, but I think that it's also that I'm not looking forward to being back in the routine of early rising and driving everyone all over creation. *sigh* Of course, wicked PMS might be influencing my attitude just a little. ;)

Now, to bed I go. I'll be 41 tomorrow. Hard to believe I tell you. Those old truisms are right. Time does fly. lol

We're home after a week on Wrightsville where the weather was lovely and the kids had a blast boogie boarding and building in the sand. I enjoyed quality time in my beach chair and on the hammock on the wraparound porch of the beach house we were staying in. There was also lots of good food to be consumed. I don't mind bringing home the good memories, it's the extra vacation pounds that I could live without. ;)

Anyway, since I completely ignored work, I managed to get a lot of reading done. Here's the rundown of my reading from 8/11-8/17.

#71-Midnighters: The Secret Hour by Scott Westerfeld. A very engaging YA series recommended to me by a friend. The premise being that there's a secret 25th hour that happens at the stroke of midnight that only those born at midnight can access. Those who can have special powers that only work then. I'm going to get the series for J for her birthday next week.

#72-Midnighters: Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld. The second in the series.

#73-The Red Queen by Margaret Drabble. I really liked Drabble's writing style, but I was never quite sure what the point of the book actually was. The first section, which is told in first person using the character of a Korean Crown Princess from over 200 years ago and which was based heavily on her autobiographical writings was fascinating however.

#74-Wishing by Miranda Jarrett. The obligatory cheesy romance beach reading. What would the beach be without brain candy right? It seemed eminently suitable to read a book about a dashing sea captain while sitting next to the crashing surf. lol

#75-Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore. A quirky little novella with gorgeous writing that my mother-in-law brought with her to the beach. I'll be checking to see if this author has written anything else because her use of language is gorgeous.

#76-The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig. I've never read anything by him before, but this was a lovely novel that recreates a vanished period of the West. I very much enjoyed this.

#77-A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham. An interesting book with rotating points of view. Gives insight into how there is often a great divide between the way we see ourselves and the way that others perceive us.

#78-Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult. I read one of hers at the beach last year so it seemed fitting to do another. Picoult is a formula writer, but it's a good formula. I thought that the resolution was more than a little pat, but the book held my interest.

I also started an adult novel (Adverbs) by Daniel Handler (the guy who writes the Lemony Snicket books) thinking that I'd give him another chance as I hated the first LS, but I put it down after the first 30 pages or so. He's just not my cup of tea I guess.

Now, it's back to doing the mound of sheets and towels we lugged home. Hope the last week was good to all of you. :)

Your package arrived and I read the book last night! You're right. I really enjoyed it. There were definitely times that I found myself nodding in agreement with some of her ideas and conclusions. I haven't had a chance to listen to the cd yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Thanks you so much for sharing with me! *smooch*

That means that #70, courtesy of the lovely and generous Kath, is So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson. One woman's vow to read a book a week for a year and where that journey takes her. Lots of rumination on what books mean in one's life and how what you enjoy reflects your particular stage in life's journey. An unusually apt title given that this is my year of the book pledge. I'm thinking of suggesting this one as a title for my book group in the coming year. I recommend it to anyone who can't imagine a life without books.

The heat has been incredible this week. We've had several consecutive days where the heat index was upwards of 110. The girls and I have ventured out some to do errands and the like, but by and large we've been enjoying the benefits of one of the greatest inventions of modern society, air conditioning. I can't even begin to imagine how horrible it would be to not have it when the weather is this unbearable.

We're now on day 5 of G and the boys being gone and and it's been so quiet and peaceful. Going from 4 kids to 2 is a breeze generally, but when you go from 2 boys and 2 girls to just 2 girls, it's an order of magnitude easier. Things don't get nearly as messy. There's much less noise and chaos. It's just calmer in general. I love the guys and will be happy to have them come home safely from their wilderness adventure, but I have to say that it's been an oasis of calm without them. :)

While reveling in the quiet this evening I read a chick lit. I was in the mood for easy and breezy and this one delivered. It's called Heiress for Hire by Erin McCarthy. It didn't require a lot of higher-order thinking skills, but it was entertaining and light and just what I was in the mood for. That brings the total to 69 so far for the year.

We'll be heading to the beach at the end of next week for our annual vacation with my m-i-l. Which means that it's time for me to start stocking up on my beach reading. Any good suggestions for what I should take along?

Number 68 is Labyrinth by Kate Mosse. I was hoping this one would be better. The Cathar history was very interesting, but I was never truly engaged in the storyline. The Eight is a much better read. Hmm, maybe that means it's time to reread The Eight. I haven't done that yet this summer. :)

Nope, not the decade or the temperature. The number of books I've read so far this year. I got my freelance project that was due this evening finished in the late afternoon and rewarded myself by reading a book. So what that there's a mountain of laundry in the upstairs hall approaching Everest territory. Laundry schmaundry!! Anyway, #60 is Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. I'd heard good things about her and she spoke at my older children's school earlier this year. This is her latest and I originally picked it up at the library so that J could read it. I found the protagonist to be an engaging character and the book itself to be a thoughtful treatment of such issues as conflict avoidance, the danger of keeping secrets, the importance of honesty, both with oneself and others, and how different people can interpret the same events in multiple ways. I liked it. Tomorrow I'll be delving back into the world of freelance educational consultancy, but for now, I'll savor the memory of an engaging book.

In a stunningly unrelated issue, has anyone else noticed a huge upswing in the number of Loganmobiles, I mean bright yellow X-Terras on the road? I'm not keeping track like I did last summber *thinks back nostalgically*, but I swear that I saw SIX in the space of an hour out doing errands earlier this week. It was kind of weird. lol I'll break out my Logan icon in honor of the weirdness.

Yes, I know that I said I was done with her for a while, but every once in a while I live up to that firstborn, Virgo, rule-governed press. I read the first and last in her garden trilogy and had to go back and read the middle one. Sadly compulsive, I know, but true nonetheless. lol Anyway, #55 is Black Rose by Nora Roberts. Not my favorite of the series, but an enjoyable read.

Also, as I told Tas, I've come up with a narcing nomenclature for TWOP that they can add to their posting titles. You could start out as "Stoolie", then move up the tattling ladder to get "Informer", "Collaborator", with the ultimate goal of "Quisling". Wouldn't that be a title to wear with pride? ;)

for meeting my pledge. #49 is Ready or Not by Meg Cabot. The sequel to All American Girl. I enjoyed it and thought that its handling of first-time teenage sex was somewhat refreshing. I'll be curious to see where Cabot goes with the series.

#50 is Red Lily by Nora Roberts. The third in the garden trilogy. It's Nora Roberts. You know what to expect going into a Roberts novel and she doesn't disappoint. Beach reading extraordinaire.

Now, the goal is to see what my ultimate total for 2006 will be. Can I make it to 100? We'll see.

ETA #51 is Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner. I'm a study in reading contrasts apparently. lol This was a fascinating look at everything from the economics of crack gangs to what really caused the much lauded decline in crime rates in the 1990's with side trips into the economics of cheating and baby naming. If you want a book that encourages you to think outside the box, this would definitely fit the bill.