To give my mind a rest my next book was `Two for the dough` by Janet Evanovich.   I love Janet Evanovich and the characters she creates.   Each one reminds me of someone I already know, especially Grandma Mazur, who likes nothing better than to attend a good wake.  Sound familiar?  Her characters are likeable, even the villains.   The writing is quick and funny.

There seems to be a rash of novels about young childless women, hitting 30, with no babies nor husbands in site.  I just finished the Godmother by Carrie Adams.    She has four God children and longs to have one of her own. The turn of events is entirely different from the usual chick flick.  It is grittier and more true to life. Not a bad book at all.

All novels purchased at my local Frenchy`s at a cost of $1.50 each.

What about you? Read any good books lately?

I`ve been reading Good in Bed,  Sea Glass Comfort me with Apples and The Whole World Over

It is amazing how much I read (4 books in one week) when I am not sitting mindlessly in front of a television.    Since we did not install cable in the apartment we have only 3 channels.  We don`t miss the other 57 channels we had before.  We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night at a hotel and the only channel we did watch was the one with marathon of `The Big Bang Theory

I’ve been sewing -  Since moving into the apartment I lost my sewing mojo.   DH suggested I use the kitchen as my work area.  What a great suggestion.  My mojo is grooving and I am cutting the fabric for a Christmas quilt.  This time I plan to completely cut all the fabric before starting the quilt……….another first.

I’ve been cooking -  The pot luck gang joined us on the 23rd for a pre-Christmas dinner.   For a gluten treat I made Chocolate Peanut Butter Ribbon dessert.  Another big hit over the holidays was Baked Onion Dip.

Like I said, `living the dream`.

So now even more than before I’ve been reading in my spare time, instead of sitting restlessly in front of the television flicking through the channels.   With only 3 channels available, your flicking finger never tires.

I’ve been finishing two books a week and thought I would list  some of my recent reads.

Cold Sassy Tree – Romance-  Set in a small Southern town at the turn of the century. The romance is between an independent woman from the North who marries the local general-store owner. The drama comes from the townspeople’s reaction to their age difference. He’s much older than she is – and he’s only been a widower for three weeks! Gotta love the Sunday Christian’s portrayed in this novel.   They go to church religiously the whole time gossiping and yet  ostracize their neighbours due to social standing .  Not as enjoyable as  To Kill a Mockingbird, but still a good read.

Mister Fabulous and Friend -  WOMAN’S OWN ‘Celia Brayfield does for middle-aged men what Bridget Jones did for thirtysomething women.’ Excellent book, funny, sad, and very familiar.

My sister’s keeper.  ” The story of 13-year-old Anna, who sues her parents for medical emancipation when she is expected to donate a kidney to her sister Kate, who is dying from leukemia.”I am not a Jodi Picoult fan  (sorry San).  But I loved this book.   And yes I had a good cry at the ending.

What are you reading this week?

My daughter Andrea had raved about the book for months, so my expectations were high.

The chemistry between the two main characters just was not there, I couldn’t believe the love story between them  I know, I know.  It was just a movie.  But a good movie sweeps you up and allows you to forget that you are just watching a movie, it makes the whole story  real.   A good book allows you to play the movie in your head, long before it comes out on film.  In my opinion, Mark Ruffalo would have played a better Henry.

This summer I am reading the novel by Audrey Niffenegger.  And oh what a book.  It is funny, sad, intense, poignant and intelligent.   If you aren’t familiar with the story line, check it out here.  Andrea was right, it is unforgettable.  The story-teller alternates between Claire and Henry, but it is such a beautiful read that your mind almost switches voices as well.  This is the perfect summertime read.

When I finish the book, I intend to have a good cry and maybe rent the video.  Who knows perhaps I’ll enjoy the movie more the second time around.

Whether you are reading, quilting or time travelling this weekend, enjoy yourself.

The film title comes from part of a conversation between Atticus and his children, after giving Jem and Scout air-rifles as Christmas presents.  He tells them they can  “shoot all the bluejays [they] want,” but warns they must remember that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”.    As  mockingbirds do no harm and provide pleasure with their song.  “They don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us”.  Through the novel the mockingbird is used as a recurring  symbol  of innocence and beauty against racism and hatred.

I saw the movie on television in 1967, the next day I borrowed the book from the local library.  It is a novel that will stay with you forever.   In the last 50 years, this novel has never been out of print.

None of the books shown below cost me more than $1.35 as I buy them at thrift store and yard sales.  Often I receive more in trade in value than what I originally paid for the book.   What’s on your summer reading list?

A Matter of Chance by Jeanette Halen – covers three decades of a family’s triumphs and sorrows.

The Professor and the Madman – by Simon Winchester.  A story of madness, murder, genius and the making of the Oxford English dictionary. A New York Times Notable book.

What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman.  30 years ago two girls disappear and now in the aftermath of a hit and run accident, a middle age woman claims to be the youngest girl.

Doubting Yourself to the Bone by Thomas Trofimuk, another Canadian author.  A love story about the nature of grief.

A Place called Wiregrass by Michael Morris .  A powerful story of saving race, cherished friendship and survival.

We were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates.   A story of the demise of a perfect family after an incident is hushed up and never spoken of again.

Don’t kiss them good-bye by Aliison Dubois.  The true story of the woman who is the inspiration behind the hit show Medium

The Navigator of New York – by Canadian author Wayne Johnston, author of  The Colony of Unrequited dreams. A fictional account of the lives of Frederick Cook and Robert Peary and their quest for the North Pole.

In grade two we moved to town and the book mobile became the highlight of my week.  Soon I was old enough to travel on the bus to the city library.  Heidi, the adventures of the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and Little Women were my childhood favourites.  The Classics Illustrated comics took a good portion of my weekly allowance.

I haven’t visited the library in years , as I am now a fan of yard sale and thrift store books. Each night I read myself asleep, just like I did many years ago.

What’s your favourite childhood book?

I have found blank  hotel stationery, boarding passes, prayers cards, and grocery list.  All of these were used to mark the spot but soon forgotten.  Oddly enough I have even found book marks.  Most of the book marks are Canadian in nature including one with a note written on the back, “Happy Canada Day at King’s Landing”, love Earl.

Another one quoted “this is where I went to sleep” on Prince Edward Island.

I read myself to sleep every night so I use whatever I can find just before I close my eyes.  Although I sometimes use my reading glasses as a marker, pluckers are a personal favourite.  Those are the annoying paper advertising inserts that you find in a magazine.  The name was derived by a friend’s five year old, whose job it was to pluck out the inserts, before her Mom read the magazine.

What ever you use to mark your place remember……..

What’s the strangest thing you have found or used to mark a book?

I wonder if Bobby Greer is a reader?

I had the great pleasure of watching the movie once again on Bravo TV this week.  Even though this film is in black and white, the story and characters stand the test of time.

The scene which starts me crying is the night Atticus stands outside the jail to protect Tom Robison. Here it is summarized by Tim Dirks of Filmsite

In one of the most compelling scenes in the film, as the children begin taking a shortcut home, four cars noisily converge on the jail from the Meridian Highway. The children hide and watch from the cover of the bushes. The armed men get out of their cars and surround Atticus – they are a self-appointed lynch mob that has gathered to take justice into its own hands after diverting Sheriff Tate. To get a closer look, the three kids run over to the cars. Scout, in particular, who is oblivious to the danger, pushes her way through the crowd to glimpse her stern-faced father – he immediately fears for their safety. While Jem stands by his father and stubbornly refuses to leave after his father’s command, a stalwart Scout faces down the crowd and sees someone she recognizes. She conducts an innocent, uninhibited exchange with Walter Cunningham Sr., and engages him in a disarming, candid, yet humanized conversation. Scout makes him uncomfortable in front of the mob:

I said, ‘Hey,’ Mr. Cunningham. How’s your entailment getting along? (He turns and looks away.) Don’t you remember me, Mr. Cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch. You brought us some hickory nuts one early morning, remember? We had a talk. I went and got my daddy to come out and thank you. I go to school with your boy. I go to school with Walter. He’s a nice boy. Tell him ‘hey’ for me, won’t you? You know something, Mr. Cunningham, entailments are bad. Entailments…(She suddenly becomes self-conscious) Atticus, I was just saying to Mr. Cunningham that entailments were bad but not to worry. Takes a long time sometimes…(To the men who are staring up at her) What’s the matter? I sure meant no harm, Mr. Cunningham.

Scout’s words cause him to break up the potential lynching. The embarrassed crowd disbands.

The movie is as heartbreaking and heart warming as it was when it first previewed (1962).   Do yourself a favour and rent the movie.   Settle down with a bowl of popcorn and a box of Kleenex and go back to a time when movies were worth watching.

The snow storm hampered our shopping a bit, but we still had a good visit.  Of course we had to top it off with a visit to our favourite bookstore-coffee shop Reads. Sarah drops into Reads each morning for a cup of coffee on the way to school.  That girl has good taste.

I traded my books for a new stash.  Last evening I started  The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and read until after midnight.

Today is all about me.  I plan to stay in my pyjamas until it is time to take a shower and put on fresh jammies.   As the temperature is minus 14 with a wind chill factor of  20, I slept in rather than going to the gym.   The rest of the day will be dedicated to puttering, quilting, reading and cooking.   Sounds busy but to me it is a perfect holiday.  What is your idea of a perfect stay at home day?