Cash is really into trains right now. A couple of weeks ago when Aunt Jenny babysat, they made a train book called Busy Trains Work All Day. Cash did all the illustrations and Aunt Jenny transcribed the words that Cash wanted on each page. I think he did really good job:
Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Born Confused is the story of 17 year old Dimple Lala, an Indian-American girl who feels "not quite Indian and not quite American." Dimple is best friends with blonde-haired, blue eyed Gwyn. Dimple's identity crisis comes to a head when her parents decide to fix her up with a "suitable Indian boy" hoping that she will marry one eventually. They introduce her to Karsh, the son of their friends from India. Dimple is not impressed with Karsh on first meeting him but Gwyn is so Dimple helps Gwyn pursue him. Along the way she embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
I liked this book a lot and learned a lot about Indian-America culture and perspectives from it. I listened to the audio book and the narrator, Marguerite Gavin did a fabulous job. She did a wide range of Indian, British, and Teenager accents flawlessly.
The only thing I didn't like about this book was that the pace could be really slow at times. The author had several times when she got on a descriptive tangent, using all kinds of over the top metaphors when I really just wanted her to get on with the story. The book is told in first person from Dimple's point of view and it was pretty unbelievable that a 17 year old had that kind of language skills, especially since this book is classified as young adult.
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I've started up my weight loss blog again. It's not very exciting – basically just my food diary and workout log but I know a couple of people followed it so I thought I'd let you know. I've entered a weight loss challenge on a scrapbooking message board I frequent to lose 11 pounds by the end of June. It's hard for me to lose weight unless I'm accountable to someone and the competitive side of me loves a challenge so it has been just the jump start I needed.
Her Vampire Husband by Michele Hauf
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Her Vampire Husband is the third book in the Wicked Games series but the author states that it can be read as a stand alone book. I have not read the first two books in the series myself so I can’t offer an opinion on whether or not that’s true.
Blu, a young female werewolf, is forced to marry Creed, an ancient vampire, in an attempt to bring peace between the warring vampire and werewolf nations. Of course they start out hating each other and then reluctantly fall in love. Even with the paranormal element, this book follows the standard trashy romance formula to a T.
This book is a Harlequin romance so I am not holding it to as high a standard as I normally would when reviewing a book. However, even with the lowered bar I think this book had some issues. First of all, I think it was in serious need of editing. There were several instances where words or phrases were used incorrectly or where sentences were repeated with just slightly different wording in the same paragraph.
Secondly, the dialogue was over the top cheesy. Blu and Creed repeatedly referred to each other as “lover” which just makes my skin crawl. And there was a love scene during a full moon that was very creepy and bordered on bestiality. I also wasn’t happy with the liberties the author took with vampire mythology without explanation.
There are so many trashy paranormal romance books out there that are better – I’d skip this one if I were you.
(I received this book courtesy of the publisher and the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.)
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The photographer told West to sit up straight:
I finally had the boys spring photos taken last week. I actually had an appointment to get them in before Easter but then I got sick and couldn't take them. They did really well:
Today was a great day. Travis cooked a wonderful shrimp dinner and his sister made a great chocolate caramel cake for dessert. My baby brother even brought a salad and bread! I love this chalice necklace that Travis gave me. Travis designed this chalice for our church a couple of years ago.
We continued our annual photo shoot tradition and the boys held up their end by acting like maniacs yet again. Here are links to our 2008 and 2009 shoots.
On to 2010!
First West wanted a picture of just him and Mommy. This is the smile he makes when he's trying to be super sweet:
Then it was time to get Cash in the pictures as well. West's tongue is blue because he put blue food coloring in his apple juice.
Before this one was taken I said, "Last one guys. Let's put on our best smiles.":
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Since I was a business major in college, I wasn't made to read a lot of the standard classics that most people have already read. I'm finally starting to make up for lost time.
I loved this book. I have always loved 19th century literature, mostly because I love the societal rules and manners. (The House of Mirth is one of my all-time favorite books.) However, I was a bit surprised
that I could be drawn in so much to a romance where no one even kisses.
(Especially because some of the paranormal romances I read are
practically pornography.) But I couldn't put this book down and I am
now in love with Mr. Darcy like so many other women before me.
The Annotated Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I used this book as a reference while I was reading Pride and Predjudice on my Kindle. There were way too many footnotes to read directly from this edition. I would read a few chapters on the Kindle and then skim the footnotes in this edition for the section I had just read. I think I got a lot more out of the book than if I had just read the regular version. Shapard's footnotes contained many interesting facts about the customs of the day that helped explain various characters' motivations for their actions. He also included biographical information about Jane Austen herself that was helpful.
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My dad invited my brother and I to go with him to see one of his favorite authors, Craig Johnson, speak at I Love A Mystery bookstore tonight. I haven't read any of his books yet but after hearing him speak and read an excerpt of his new book, Junkyard Dogs, I'm looking forward to reading one of his books. I bought the first book of his Walt Longmire mystery series, The Cold Dish and had him sign it.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Glass Castle is Jeannette Walls’ memoir of growing up with an alcoholic father and a mother that was surely mentally ill. The book opens when Jeannette is three and badly burns herself cooking hotdogs on the stove. She spends six weeks in the hospital until her parents “rescue” her and sneak her back home. This type of situation is repeated throughout the book. Jeannette’s parents are proud of their hands-off approach to parenting and repeatedly “help” Jeannette and her brother and sisters by making them do things no children their ages should have to do.
Jeannette retells the events of her childhood through the eyes of the child she was at the time and does a great job of keeping adult cynicism out of it. She doesn’t ask for pity, she lets the horribleness of the events she relates speak for themselves. Many times I wanted to reach through the book and strangle her parents. I read Jeanette’s gossip column on msnbc.com for years – to think that she was once the little girl in this book and not only survived but became very successful is amazing.
I’m a reading, knitting, scrapbooking, running mom of four crazy kids.
Welcome to the chaos!
