Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Let me wish you all a Grand St. Patrick's Day.

No, not Patty please, but Patrick.
No, there will be no green beer here, an insult to the noble beverage of beer. Also any decent beer should be too dark to dye green. And no corned beef, an Irish-American invention, not served in Ireland. No, if I were preparing an Irish meal today, I might make some vegetable soup for a starter, then a lovely lamb stew, with some brown bread and if you insist, we will have some Guinness. Only because it is a very healthy drink, of course. Really!

Instead, let me share some of St. Patrick's, the patron of Ireland, own words, to quote part of his very famous prayer, The Lorica. It is often called St. Patrick's Breastplate, a prayer for protection that he wrote as he prepared to confront the druid priests, who of course opposed his attempts to bring Christianity to a pagan island, and as he tried to persuade the chieftains of Ireland, at Tara in March of 433 A.D., to let him preach without removing his head.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the Threeness,
Through the confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of demons,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

And also, let me share with you a tiny taste of Ireland...



...and then we will raise a pint to Saint Patrick!
Sláinte!

Bandit is ready for St. Patrick's Day

There is an Irish dog for ya. Ignore those so-called Irish Wolfhounds.
And because I know that you are interested, wee Caite on St. Patrick's Day, a few years ago, getting ready to march in a parade. I am the shorter one.

Do you talk to strangers? I do on Musing Monday!

From the cyper desktop of Rebecca at Just One More Page "Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about talking to strangers…

We were all warned as children to 'never talk to strangers', but how do you feel about book-talk with random people? When you see people reading, do you ask what it is? Do you talk to people in the book store or the library? Why or why not? What do you do if people talk to you? (question courtesy of Dena)"

We were all warned as children not to talk to strangers? Was I warned as a child not to talk to strangers? No, I don't think so. Granted, it was a slightly different world that I grew up in, not as filled with fear about might happen to children as today's world is. You will notice I don't say that it was actually a safer world, because I am not convinced it was. I just think, perhaps due to a lack of 24 cable news being pumped into out heads, no Amber Alert being blared across the TV, we were not as aware of all the terrible things that some very bad people will do to others, especially children.

Then there was the fact that my mother, in retrospect, had a slightly odd approach to childrearing. Now, don't get me wrong. My mother was a great mom...she was smart and funny and did a great job raising me and my Bro when she found herself widowed, owning a bar, in an inner city neighborhood...again in retrospect...eeek! And it is from her that I received my love of books. But really, she let us wander on our own to a degree that I now see as a bit odd. As kids, for example The Bro and I would go to New York City alone, together when I was quite young, alone when I was a bit older.
Quite the adventure...

But then maybe she knew that I was never going to talk to any strangers anyway. I barely talked to people I knew. Because, my dear readers, I am the classic introvert. Always have been, always will be. I could as a child and can still as an adult, spend countless hours alone, quite contentedly. It appears that my need for personal interaction is lesser than the average human being.

So would I try to see what others are reading? Possibly, because as an introvert, I am also an observer of people. I am an Observer Introvert. And I like books. So yes, I am curious about books, my books, your books, stranger's books. Would I ask what it is? On no...no...I think not! That would burst the bubble of the Observer Introvert...it seems much too bold. If they could stand there a few weeks, I might bring myself around to it. In the meantime, I think I will just keep reading my book, thank you.

Do you talk to people in the book store or the library? NO!
Why or why not? Have you heard nothing I said?
What do you do if people talk to you? Yes, there is that danger...lol
Actually, as The Niece can attest, it actually happen the other day and it was book related. We were in Sam's Club...she needed socks before she went back to college and I will take any excuse to go to Sam's and look at STUFF. Anyhoo, we were looking at, believe it or not, books, when a woman starting talking to me, perhaps in response to something I had said to The Niece. She asked if I had read anything by a certain author, which I had not, and went on a bit about why I should. I understand her enthusiasm about books and an author she loves...but really, one should control ones self in public, no?
What did I do? Well, I responded politely, as I always will. I think we had what might be considered a conversation. If books are involved, I might actually not have to pretend to be interested. I don't mind so much talking to people in such a situation, it would just never really occur to me to speak to them first.

Unless they were about to fall into an unseen gaping hole that had suddenly opened in the floor or something important like that. Then I would most like speak first. Especially if they were holding some books. I mean, what a waste.

The Carnival is in town! No elephants though....

Oh, it is a book carnival! That explains it.
In fact, it is the 13th Book Review Carnival over at Bookish Ruth, with links to over 50 reviews of a wide variety.

Fiction, non-fiction, romance, mysteries, children's, YA, Christian....golly, there are even reviews of a book of poetry. What more can you ask for?

Oh, look, one of mine!

So be sure to check it out!
I am hoping for a balloon thought....

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Happy Pi Day!!

Any moment it will be 1:59....ooops there it goes....So the time is at hand to celebrate Pi Day. Get it? 3.14.159. Well, you might get it if you were awake in math class, or are a real nerd. ..and there is no better way to celebrate Pi Day as it should be cebrated than by having pie! Ideally Pi Pie!     

Now here, just above, is a lovely example of a Pi Pie, made by my friend Raye, from the Great White Frozen North...also known as Canada. Now come to think of it, I have no idea why Raye baked this Pi Pie, because it was certainly not March 14 when I was there. I like cold and snow...but not that much. Visits should be saved for summer there. Or when the salmon are running.                                                   
But ANY time is a fine time for pie...especially pi pie on Pi Day!! So make a pie and share it with your friends and foes, because no one is your enemy when sharing pie! I'll bring the milk!!

My thanks to The Happy Catholic for the reminder.                                                

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a review of "The Mighty Queens of Freeville"

The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, A Daughter, and The People Who Raised Them by Amy Dickinson (Hyperion, ISBN 978-1-4013-2285-4)

I don't believe that I have ever read any of Amy Dickinson's advice columns, although I do vaguely remember when she got the job to replace Ann Landers. Launders was certainly a very famous, very successful columnist and the person chosen would seem to have had very big shoes to fill. To quote the book's description on the back cover, “Bracingly witty and candid, Amy is not your mother's advice columnist. Readers love her for her brutal honesty, her small town values, and the fact that her motto is 'I made the mistakes so you don't have to.' Ask Amy appears daily in more than 450 newspapers nationwide, read by more than 22 million people.” Wow, how does one become the person that is qualified for that job...how do you even get that job? The Mighty Queens is a memoir of sorts, so one would think you would find the answers to those questions in it, in this “tale of Amy and her daughter and the women in her family who helped raise them.” I am disappointed that, at least for me, I didn't find that the book lived up to that promise.

Amy grew up in a small town in upstate New York, on a dairy farm. Well, it was a dairy farm until her father ran off with another woman, leaving his wife and kids, and sold the cows out from under them. After that it was a house that their mother was barely able to hold on to, since everything, they found out, was leverage to the hilt. That was pretty much the last they saw or heard of him, except a few brief reappearances over the years. It was not a terribly hostile divorce, because as Amy says “In order to fight with my father, my mother would have had to locate him first.” Nor is divorce unusual in her family. Her mother, two aunts, two sisters and yes, Amy herself, were left to raise their children alone. They are, she says, a family of women, since a lot of the men seem to sort of disappear, one way or another. Yes, her dashing, upscale, soon to be husband, first seen in the introduction, will leave her with a young daughter, Emily, in London where they were living, and so will begin Amy's adventure of raising her daughter, for the most part on her own.

The book is not so much a chronological memoir as a loose collection of tales about a variety of themes and incidents in her life. Some are quite funny, some are very sad, and my favorite, about their cat Pumpkin, is both. I am not that fond of cats, but he sounds like a winner. “He participated in tea parties and safaris and treasure hunts. Sometimes we tied Emily's old baby blanket around his middle like a skirt, just because we could. He had a high tolerance for humiliation and a fondness for headgear, which is something of a prerequisite for being a member of our family.” Poor Pumpkin..

Obviously, Amy is a good writer and some of her lines are excellent, some of the stories quite good. One of my favorites refers to her trying out for the column. “The Tribune took all of the audition columns and test marketed them for groups of newspaper readers. In every single test market, the result was the same: readers first choice for an advice columnist was to bring Ann Landers back from the dead.”
And she is obviously very fond of her hometown and the people who live there, many related to her, and respects how they live their lives and she respects their values.

But the problem is that a good book is more than just a collection interesting stories and good lines. See, there is the biggest problem, right in the title. We were promised The Mighty Queens of Freeville In her own words again, in the introduction, she tells of looking at boxes of old pictures with her sister, from daguerreotypes up to pictures her mother took. Photos of women in Victorian blouses, and women, cigarettes in hand, leaning on pickups, or showing off their new babies or arms linked with friends and says “These are the women of my world-the Mighty Queens of Freeville- who have led small lives of great consequence in the tiny place that we call home.
But I'm still waiting to really meet them.

Her sisters make a few appearances, an aunt here and there and we learn a bit about her mother, but the theme of these strong women, guiding her life, that she promises never appears. And that is a big loss I think. Take her mother, for example. Here she is, left with these kids and a pile of debt, on a failed dairy farm, in this tiny NY town, tying to eek out a living. But rather than letting that defeat her, we find out that after the kids were out of the house, she went to college, went on to advanced degrees and ended up a college professor. Now, to me, that sounds like an interesting story...that we hear too little about.

The book is a pleasant read, with some good stories, but I just think it's falls short of what it could have been if Dickinson had kept her eye on what should have been the thing that tied it all together, those Mighty Queens.
I would give it a half hearted recommendation, but it left me a bit disappointed. Fans of her column will no doubt enjoy the book to a greater degree.

You might also be interested to check out what these other reviewers think...
The Book Lady's Blog
Bermudaonion's Weblog
A Reader's Respite
S.Krishna's Books
Medieval Bookworn
Wrighty's Reads

The Might Queens of Freeville

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You Love Me....You Really Love Me!!

Golly, I have received this award from two of my fellow bloggers! The "I Love Your Blog" award.

Which means either maybe I am doing a decent job here on my wee, little blog and a few people are reading it.

Or else, and more likely, everyone else in the blogsphere had already been given it.

Ok, I will go with the first, and give my sincere thanks to both Sandy at You've Gotta Read This and Kaye at Pudgy Penguin Perusals. Glad to see that they both got the payoff. Money well spent. ;-)

Now, there are rules involved. links....done...post logo....done...nominate seven and message them....well, I have not done that yet. but I will try to soon...really.

Ok, maybe I was wrong about Borders, sort of.

In the past, I have mentioned my dissatisfaction with Borders, the bookstore chain. On the one hand, it is the only book store around here. Beggers can't be choosers. But, I do hate that every time I go there, there seems to be less and less space given to books and more and more to gifts and games and coffee and greeting cards. I hate the fact that I went there looking for a nice copy of a classic and not only could I not get a nice copy, I could not get any copy! A disgrace.

Because of my mixed feelings about Border, however, I realize that I may having been missing out on a great resource about books, and that is Borders' web site. I belong to their 'frequent flyer' program, or whatever it is called, so I get e-mails from them with various offers. I always glance at them, looking for a great coupon, because, as you know, I am cheap and hate to pay full price. Now this morning, I noticed a link to a video by the author Lisa Scottoline, someone whose books I enjoy a great deal. She features great characters, especially smart, female characters and always, smart, often witty writing. Smart and witty is a wonderful thing. Well, Ms. Scottoline has a new book coming out soon, Look Again, available April 14, {{if Ms. Scottoline or her publicist might read this and like to send me a copy, please do not hesitate for a second to e-mail me...not a second}} and although I think she might mention that in the video, the real point is a little tour through her favorite thriller writers. Some of her choices I totally agree with, Denise Mina, P.D.James in fiction, A Perfect Storm, a book I loved, as an example of a non-fiction thriller. Some I disagree with..I think I have mentioned that I have given up on Patterson, another example of the Series That Should Have Ended But Did Not. Kill Cross...all I am saying. The Da Vinci Code...oh, really Lisa, tell me you are kidding, please.

But the really interesting part is her insights into thrillers and mysteries and writing in general, plot, characterization. And as always, she is very amusing. And a good Philly girl. I love her definition of a great novel as "A fully realized story, well told" and I have to agree with her idea that thrillers are "entertainment for smart people". I have mentioned that I love mysteries and thrillers, haven't I? ;-)

Now I see that Border's site is full of videos and other delightful material in the Border's Media section. Book club interviews with authors, book trailers, author's short pick of their favorites books, even a short story by Stephan King "N." "brought to vibrant life through a series of 25 graphic video episodes."

A great source, worth checking out.

Tuesday Thinger...and a chance for even more rejection.

Time to talk about one of my favorite web sites, once again. Yes, let's see what we might find out this week about Library Thing. In fact, this week's question is about a new and wonderful feature of Library Thing, Member Giveaways. Another reason you should be hitting yourself on the head if you have not yet joined Library Thing.

Now in the past...like last week if you forget...we talked about Early Reviewers, which is a way for publishers to give away books in return for a promise of a review. Now, the fine folks at LT have expanded the program to allow anyone who is a member of LT...author, reader with way to many books in their house...to offer books, again, usually in return for reviews but sometimes just in return for a good home.

What does a book consider a good home? An inch of shelf space, all their own, without someone else piled on top of them? A weekly cleaning with a gentle feather duster? A large community of fellow tomes? Well, I can offer one out of three!

But the question...yes, there was a question....from Wendi's Book Corner

Question: Were you aware of the Member Giveaways Program? Have you posted any books in the giveaway? If so, what are your thoughts on the program? Have you requested any books, and if so, did you win any?

Was I aware of it? Indeed, I was!
Have I posted any books? No. They are all happy here and do not want to leave me.
Have I requested books? Indeed, I have! There is always room for a few more.
Have you received any books? Indeed, I did! Move over everyone.

Yes, my dear readers, I have a tale to tell to counter last week's very sad tale of woe. I know you were no doubt very affected by my lack, in recent months, of ability to 'win' an ER book. See, as I think about it, I see it as a judgement upon me. I must not have been a good enough Early Reviewer. That is why I am being punished. I don't understand it...as soon as my ER book came in, I read it, wrote my review and posted it on LT as required. I don't understand how I was lacking, but I must have been. {{sob}}

But now, here are all this other chances. All sorts of books...and I do mean all sorts. New...used...advance review copies...e-books...1 copy offered...50 copies available. I do notice that they tend to be a little more, how can I say this, heterogeneous, a bit more diverse, a bit idiosyncratic. Ok, some of them are just a little bit weird.
Now don't get me wrong. There are a number of solid, classic, middle of the road books. But let's face it. If you allow anyone to offer any book they want, you might get a few odd ones, and I think it is great! Even odd books need a good home. But there seems to be a fair number of time travel/paranormal/devil worship/wizard books offered. Not that there is anything wrong with that...I am just saying. {{all my devil worshiping, wizard fans leaving...}}
There are also a number of non-English books. They might be great ones, but I can't say, since the descriptions are not in English.

But on a positive note, yes, I have 'won' one book so far. Actually, it just arrived the other day, so I have not read it yet, but it looks amusing. It is The Septic's Companion: A Mercifully Brief Guide to British Culture and Slang. I figured a better knowledge of British slang would be useful when reading those English mysteries that I love. Don't want to confuse your diddle with your divvy.

But the program is not without problems, serious problems. First, unlike the ER requests that all timed out on the same date, and therefore led to just one acceptance or rejection message, these books all have different request dates. So if you go on to LT frequently, you will often be faced with yet another rejection notice. {{sob}}
Also, looking at the offerings this morning, one does have to wonder about a site that would allow not one but TWO books about the Backstreet Boys to be offered. Surely there must be some limits of good taste. I mean TWO?

...and now, as we need a picture of a dog, a Bandit pic that I made a wee change to. And be sure to visit his blog!

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Musing Mondays...Hey, you say cheap as if that were a bad thing!

Once again, let's take a moment to reflect on a question from Just One More Page.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about new authors…

What is your policy when it comes to new authors? Do you feel comfortable purchasing a book or do you prefer to borrow new authors from the library? How often do you 'try out' a new author?

New to me...or new altogether?
Well, let's discuss both.
New altogether...I must say that I have had some good luck with new authors recently. Two come to mind...the recently read School of Essential Ingredients and one I read some months ago, Guernica. Both first time novelists, and while very, very different books, in their own way, each very good books. So, yes, they were new to me and new to everyone! Would I have purchased them? Well, most likely not, for a couple of reasons that I will get to.

As to new to me authors...I would have to consider that on two sides of the great divide, pre-Advance Review Copies and post-Advanced Review Copies. Back in the days that I was not fortunate enough to get publishers to send me a fairly good number of ARC's, mainly because I never knew to ask, back when I had to buy all my books or get then from the library, I tended to play it safer in terms of my choices. Think tried and true. I would happen upon an author, maybe on a loaned book or a strong recommendation, and read through all their books. Usually starting at the beginning of a series and reading to the last written. Or at least until I got really sick of them ...or, especially among the mystery writers I favor, they reached the dreaded point of the Series That Should Have Ended But Didn't.
Ok, a little side rant. There was recently a post on this subject over on Muderati by Tess Gerritsen about this. In my opinion, an author should end a series as soon as the idea occurs to them. Oh, it all started out great. A great premise, great characters. The first few books, fresh and with all sorts of exciting twists and turned. But, especially if the series is popular and successful, some authors churn out another...and another...and another., sometimes long past the point maybe those characters should have been put to rest for awhile. Or maybe killed off in a spectacular conflagration!!

Back to the subject...now, through the miracle or ARC's, I have been exposed to all sorts of authors I had never heard of before. New authors and new to me authors. Some whose other books I will read...and some whose other booka I will not. But see, I didn't have to buy those ARCs, so love or hate them, I risked nothing but my time. Which is pretty worthless.

But besides all the new authors I have been exposed to through ARC's, I have also happened upon a lot of new authors, especially new to me, through reading the reviews of a lot of other bloggers. So many wonderful suggestions....Now, if it is a new book and it sounds interesting and I really want to read it, my first plan would check to see if my library has it. If, on the other hand, it is a book that was published some time ago, my first impulse is to see if I can get a used copy through one of the vendors on Amazon. As little as a penny for the book + 3.99 shipping.....for $4.00 and with a book recommendation I will take a chance on someone I have not read before. So newly published I tend to check the library, not newly published, I try to buy a used copy to check the author out. Then I can see if they are worth a further investment.

Because I will admit it....I am cheap. Thrifty, a tightwad, a penny pincher, parsimonious. Cheap.
To go to a bookstore and pay full price for a book....it causes me physical pain. And then if I were to hate the book on top of it.....{{gag}}}...I would be very unhappy.
Not that reading a book from an established author that I have read and liked before is any guarantee. Especially if they have reached the afore mentioned point of the STSHE.
Few are the authors who books I love so much that I will go out and buy the hardcover as soon as it comes out because I can not wait! Can't wait for a paperback, can't even wait for a library copy. I need it NOW!
Of course even then I will check and see if Sam's Club has it at a considerable discount before going to the bookstore. Hmmmm...full price...no.

...Hey, what can I say. I am cheap.

a review of The School of Essential Ingredients

The School of Essential Ingredient by Erica Bauermeister (Putnam Adult, ISBN 978-0399155437)

Would I discourage any readers if I said that the one word that this book brought to mind is...sweet? I hope not, because it is. It is sweet and luscious and passionate and just a little bit magical. And all together a very nice book.

At an early age, Lillian learned a lesson that she would continue to use throughout her life, the almost magical power of food. When her father walked out and left her and her mother, her mother retreated...and I do mean retreated.. to the safe harbor of her books. Now I am sure many of us can sympathize with the comfort a book can offer, but when her mother seems unable to perform even the necessary tasks of daily life, Lillian must step up, first out of necessity but then out of something more. She develops an interest in cooking, at first just to put food on the table for her and her mother, but then in an attempt, and a successful one, to help her mother reconnect to her life. That image, of people confused and lost, somehow finding their way back, helped along on the journey by food, by it's shear sensual delight, it's comforting presence, the joy found in sharing these wonderful creations, appears again and again in The School of Essential Ingredients.

We find Lillian grown up, in her thirties, the owner of a lovely sounding little restaurant, with food so good that people will happily wait for long periods of time for a table, sitting outside, sipping wine and chatting with their fellow potential customers. But the central action of our story will revolve around the back of the restaurant, the kitchen where, on one Monday a month when they are closed, Lillian hold her cooking class. And it is there that we meet the eight students of the current class. There is the older married couple, finding their way back after a betrayal, a heartbroken widower, a kitchen designer newly emigrated to America, a lonely software engineer, a teenager girl, tying to find herself and her way in the world, and an older woman, losing her memories, and a young woman who can barely remember when she was more than a wife and mother.

We will learn about each of them in their own chapter, going back to see the experiences that brought them to Lillian's kitchen and then we will see them all gathered around the worktables, learning not only about food and it restorative, nurturing aspects but also about each other, making connections, making friends and, guided by Lillian's almost magical sense of what each of them is looking for, a number of happy endings.

The School of Essential Ingredients is the first work of fiction by the author but I certainly hope it will not be her last, because first it is a beautifully written book. Then, her characters are realistic and very likable, their stories believable. And then there is the food...all the lovely food. Sadly, Lillian doesn't believe in using recipes because this book will make you want to run into the kitchen and try and duplicate some of the wonderful things the students cook. I guess, going with the tone of the book, you should sort of try and let the ingredients talk to you..but I really thing I do better with a recipe. But I will not hold that against the book..lol
This one certainly gets my recommendation. I am sure you will spend several very entertaining hours getting to know this cast of characters and hoping that some of Lillian's sense of the magic of food and cooking will rub off.

By the way, in case you were wondering after the rant on my last review, I loved the cover on this book.


If you want to check out some other reviews of this book, here are a few that might interest you...
worducopia
Bermudaonion
A Reader's Respite
Wrighty's Reads
Devourer of Books
Booking Mama

Available from Amazon

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I Think That I Suffer from Circadian Misalignment

You might not be aware of it, but while you are all cozy asleep at night, there are millions of us awake, working, keeping the world running and safe for ya all.
Yes, I am a shift worker! I work for a utility company...picture Homer Simpson, but without the nuclear part.

Some shift workers work steady night shift...some steady evening shift...but I work all of them! Actually, in the world of shift workers it is not an unusual schedule, working 12 hours, changing back and forth from days, 6 a.m./6 p.m., to nights, 6 p.m./6 a.m., every couple of days.
Yes, really. Yes, I can hear your moans of sympathy.

Well, there is another study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that ties shift work, the way it disturbs our metabolic systems and a variety of diseases. Of course, the worst offender is my rotating shift. From Wired Science...

"For years, scientists have known that people who work night shifts — about 15 million people in the United States — are unusually prone to heart disease, bone fractures, cancer, diabetes and obesity.

The patterns were initially explained as a function of poor nutrition and low exercise, but night workers don't necessarily live less healthy lives than their day shift counterparts. Risks remained high even when lifestyle was removed from the equation.
That left hypotheses about links between biological clocks and metabolic hormone regulation...The latest findings, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, chart a clear path from work-sleep cycles to metabolic disregulation to disease...

If the findings are replicated, researchers will try to find therapies capable of restoring metabolic order. The best therapy of all, said Van Cauter, would be a permanent move to night work."

No thank you!! Believe me, the people that will work a permanent night shift are few and far between. Most likely reside in mental institutions...because they world be even more nuts than those of us that work a rotating shift.

Now this idea, tying shift work and various illnesses together, is not new to those of us in the shift challenged world. We make copies of these articles and pass them around.
When we are not in the hospital of course.

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Spring is just around the corner. Ignore the foot of snow outside.

It has been a very busy week...which is my excuse for why I have not written the two book reviews I need to write. Monday, we got more than a foot of snow, which was grand fun driving through on the unplowed streets at 5 a.m. Monday morning on my way to work. But since Bermudaonion has the snow pictures taken care of, I thought I might post a few pictures to remind you that Spring is just around the corner. Hopefully I will get to those reviews shortly...

But until then, let my give you a brief taste of my trip yesterday to the Philadelphia Flower Show, the largest indoor flower show in the world! Every year, the show has a theme and this year it is Italy, warm and sunny Italy.

The huge, and I do mean huge, center displays, gave a feel for five different regions of Italy, complete with lovely buildings and fountains, reflecting pools and in Venice, a gondola!

..some lovely statues...


And of course, trees and plants and beautiful, beautiful flowers.


Lovely Spring bulbs, summer annuals and perennials, flowering trees and shrubs...

..and more flowers.
But the flower show is about more than just beautiful displays. There are competitions in all sorts of categories for individuals and garden clubs, there are lectures and demonstrations, smaller displays form area schools, musical performances, displays from a variety of Italian products and a big Marketplaces with all sort of vendors, many garden related...and many just very nice.

I also enjoy going to the Flower Show because the Convention Center is just across the street from the Historic Reading Terminal Market, another place with way too many things to buy and some great food. I had breakfast at an Amish run lunch counter...I love scrapple...and then a late lunch at DiNic's, the home of the best roast pork sandwich in the world, with sharp provolone and sauteed spinach. I swear, they serve that sandwich in Heaven.

After just 11 hours there, I made my way home, a couple of pounds of scrapple in my cooler and a vision of Spring in my heart.

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How to break the Early Reviewer Bad Luck Mojo....it's a Tuesday Thing!

Yes, I am late with my answer, but I had to work! Since the question was not up when I left at 5:15 a.m. and it seems my employer now has all blogs blocked on the internet while I am at work...well, it had to wait.
But now I am home, and ready to consider this week's question, presented for our consideration by Wendi at Wendi's Book Corner.

Over the past few weeks, as we explore LT and blogging, I've seen a lot of comments about Library Thing's Early Reviewer program as a place that you receive books and ARCs from...
Fun facts from the February ER batch: There were 68 books available, with 1,760 copies available all-together. 2,093 people applied for one of 30 copies of Stupid American History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions by Leland Gregory!

Question: Were you aware of the Early Reviewer Program? Have you received any books from the program? If you have, how have you liked the book(s)? Any other thoughts on the LTER program?


Have I heard of Library Thing's Early Reviewer program?
Well, to answer that, let me share my tale of woe. Have I told you before?...It is very very sad. A box of tissues will be right over here if you need one.

Just about a year ago, I joined Library Thing. Let me just say that I love LT...I love the order it brought to my books, I love that never again will I buy a look because I forgot I already had it, because now my friend Library Thing will tell me "Stupid...you have that book already. Pick a different one!" See, I love Library Thing, but it is a little ambivalent about me. As you will see by the fact that it called me stupid.
Anyhoo, right off the bat, while still stacking piles of books next to my computer, books who waited patiently for me to enter their ISBN number in LT, I happen upon the Early Reviewer program. Never before was I aware that publishers and authors gave books to people, people who in return would write a review. Wow!

I entered.
I won a nice book.
Next month, I entered, again.
Next month, I won, again.

In all, I won 10 books, in eight months in a row. One month I won 3 books in a series by the mystery writer Arnaldur Indridason. I was in heaven.
But then, I mentioned my great luck here in blogland, in a post or a comment...and have never won a good since. So started the ERBLM...the Early Reviewer Bad Luck Mojo.
5 months, 5 messages of my sad misfortune. In fact, I recieved another negative message just today.
So sad...a tear falls gently to the keyboard. {{sob...sob}}

Ok, I would love to score some more ER books but seriously, how can I be sad? I paid $25 for a lifetime membership to LT and as a plus, beside the wonder that is Library Thing, I have received 10 lovely free books.

Have I like them? Some not so much, some very much! Several were written by authors I had not heard of before, so I also found new authors as another plus. And then I also get the chance every month to read the descriptions of all the books offered, entertaining in itself. Many very, very interesting books, some going on my wish list for future purchases. Because you know, I am in desperate need of more books....NOT! lol

Ok, now to you think I might have broken the Early Reviewer Bad Luck Mojo and might get another one someday? Someday soon? I will read it very quickly, it will go right to the very top of the pile. I will write a review just as fast as my little fingers can type...both of the ones I use to type.

If not, I will take another off the TBR pile. Watch out Kitty!!! {{meow...meow}}

>^,,^< Look! It's a kitty!

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Don't pick on me...I'm slow....and Musing about Monday

Another week has flown by, so once again it is time for our Musing Monday post, via Rebecca at Just One More Page

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about boys and reading…

When reading do you read every word? Do you ever skip chapters or skim over parts?

Ok, am I just slow...I don't get the thing about it being about boys. So I will ignore that and skip on to the skipping part.

And speaking of slow...
I once thought that I was a fast reader. I remember when I was in grammar school, we took one of those state wide tests that measure things...like reading ability and I got this REAL high score. How high I am not sure but I remember they called my mother in to talk about it. Unlike the things they called my mother in to talk to about regarding my brother...but that is another story.

Anyhoo, somewhere along the journey of life, I think I lost it. I see these people who blog and read like 15+ book in February. What did I read...5?
Now, I have read that one of the keys to fast reading is not to read every word. That you see the sentence as a hold. I don't do that. I guess I read every word. Actually, I guess I am not sure that I get the point of trying to read faster. Sure, it might be nice to one day get to all the unread books I own before I die, but isn't it suppose to be about pleasure? Do we want to listen to music faster and play it at higher speeds so we could listen to more. Or fast forward through Gone With the Wind so we could watch the DVD faster? Hey, sounds like a pretty good excuse to me

Do I skim over parts? Hmmm....not really. Not unless I really dislike a book and recently I have decided if I dislike a book, after giving it a fair try, I am not going to read it. As I have read somewhere in the blogsphere recently, life is too short to read book that you don't like. Now granted, if it is an ARC someone has sent me, I do feel an obligation, but even obligation only goes so far. Not as far as skimming chapters.
No, this is ultimately about pleasure and enjoyment. Hey, maybe that is where the boys were suppose to come into the question!

Actually, I think the reason I am a slower reader as I get older is that I am increasing easily distracted. Oh, look....a shiny object. pretty.....
Seriously, unless I TOTALLY love a book, I find my mind wanders a bit as I read. To tell the truth, I find my mind wanders a bit no matter what I am doing. Does anyone know where the remote is for my Bose clock radio? I was cleaning and not paying attention, well, at least not to cleaning, and now it is missing. For the last week.
Say you are vacuuming and thinking about what you need to get at the supermarket and whether you should go to the post office today or tomorrow and do you need to get the oil changed in the car..and next thing you know, you run over your bare foot (hint, don't vacuum barefoot) and whoosh....no more nail on you big toe.

It grew back.

But an injured toe is a good excuse to stay home in your comfy chair, with a cuppa tea and read! Every single word....

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