Tuesday, July 03, 2012

June Reads in Review and historical documents

I was flipping through my photo files, looking for a side-view mirror photo and came across the very first photo I took of Fiona, still in a cage at Petsmart:

See the little door between the two sections of her cage? She followed me from one side to the other and when I went behind the cages to hold her, snuggled right up to my neck. Of course she had to come home with me. :)

That was February of 2010, so she will be 3 years old in August.

On to the memory of my reads in the month of June, 2012:

76. Courage in Times of Disappointment - George Samuel

June was a slow reading month and I veered toward lighter reading material -- lots of children's books and YA -- because of all that paperwork mortgage companies now require (and then the beginnings of packing to move).

The only book I didn't write about at all was Courage in Times of Disappointment by George Samuel. This is not a time of disappointment for us, obviously, but it was one of those books that I started to read to see if I should get rid of it and I was swept up in the writing. The author starts out by telling a story about being kidnapped in Amsterdam by a cab driver and how he talked and prayed his way out of it. The book is by a small religious press so it's very heavily Christian. George Samuel is or was from India (the book is at least 10 years old) and it is absolutely amazing how much tragedy he lived through while still remaining positive. I really enjoyed Courage in Times of Disappointment; it's very uplifting.

The rest of the books were all decent to excellent. I'm not sure I can choose a favorite, although my two least-favorite books were Into the Free and Jasmine Nights. I loved all of the children's books, gobbled up the YA and enjoyed the action in Soft Target and Robopocalypse (which, by the way, does have some plot holes -- it's all about the action; please be aware that I'm less discriminating when I can't concentrate). Silver Sparrow was the most surprising. I had no idea a book about the daughters of a bigamist could be such a page-turner.

Links above don't necessarily lead to full reviews or even minis. In some cases I just wrote a paragraph about a finished book but I'm kind of impressed with myself for continuing to fit in blog posts, at this point, and if a paragraph is all I can get around to, cool. I'm happy.

One more dip into the historical files. Look how tiny Isabel was when she arrived, compared to her big sis!


©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

20 comments:

  1. I love your blog and have nominated you for a Liebster award! You can learn more on my blog,
    www.kellymaeser.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thanks so much! I will have to look up the other blogs you linked to.

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  2. ooo i love your kitties :) so cute. i love the picture of Fiona and the story of how you met :)

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    1. Thanks, Marie! I found another photo of tiny Isabel that I may have to share, soon. It was such fun seeing the differences between then and now.

      We like to say Fiona chose us. I think the way she came into our lives was very special. She was abandoned, fostered, adopted, unadopted (because of a boyfriend who didn't like cats) and fostered, again, before she found us. We still can't figure out why *anyone* would have rejected her. She's an awesome pet.

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  3. Love the picture of big kitty and little kitty, and also love the story of how you and Fiona met. That's basically what happened with our cat Bill and my husband. Bill never forgets that my husband was the one who brought him home.

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    1. Thanks, Zibilee! I love your story about Bill, too! So sweet the way they remember!

      Fiona has this cute little bow-legged, bouncy run that I just adore and I'm pretty much the only person she runs to. She's always excited to see me when I walk in the door! That is such a great feeling.

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  4. That's great, Nancy! I love kitty pictures. We found a random picture of Casey the other night and even though she is still so little couldn't believe how much she has grown!

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    1. Thanks, Kelly!

      Aww, neat. They grow so fast! That picture of Fiona is really special to me. I wish I'd had a camera with me when I first saw Isabel in the arms of the vet tech, too. It's kind of like the first shot of a baby, that first view of your pet -- so close to your heart.

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  5. Awww, I love these photos! They sure have grown-up!

    Bummer about Jasmine Nights. I have the ARC in my stacks and will have to take a peek at your review and see if it's for me. Yes, I'm behind in my blog reading. No mortgage paperwork excuse for me. Just life. Wish I could retire so I could stay home and bike, garden, cook and read!

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    1. Thanks, Les! It was really fun looking back at pictures of our kitties when they were new to us. One of Isabel's nicknames is "Tiny" because of how itty-bitty she was when we got her. She's so fine-boned that I think it still fits but boy has she grown!

      I'm perpetually behind in my blog reading and now I'm hardly getting to it at all. It'll probably be a while before I have time to indulge, again. I'm looking forward to biking when I get settled into my new house!

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  6. It's amazing to see how much they grow!!

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  7. Fi is three? Time flies. And Izzy was such a cute fuzzy!

    The book sounds interesting but I love that title: Courage in Times of Disappointment. I feel like needlepointing it. If I needlepointed.

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    1. She'll be three in a couple months. I know, hard to believe! Izzy still is a cute fuzzy, just a bigger one. She's kind of a wienie cat, long of body and very skinny.

      I'd say maybe you could knit Courage in Times of Disappointment but that seems like a bit of a challenge, even for you. Maybe it's time to take up needlepoint. :)

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  8. Looks like a pretty good month quality-wise...especially with all you've had going on! I'll be interested to try Silver Sparrow and see how that one goes for me.

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    1. Andiloo,

      I am perfectly content with my month, given all that's happening around here, believe me! LOL Thanks. Silver Sparrow is very nicely written; it completely hooked me. I think you'll like it.

      Fizzy Jill wrote this about Silver Sparrow: "I gobbled it up in a day. Jones does a fabulous job with her characters. They are both sympathetic and flawed. They are real. I loved them. I hated them. I wanted their stories to never end!"

      I agree. :)

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  9. That picture is killing me to tbh, I need a cat.

    I still need to read Robocopalypse especially since you tweeted about the filming starting soon!

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    1. Do you have no-pet restrictions where you live, or is there some other reason you're catless? Because . . . I agree. You need a cat. I've been occasionally going to Petsmart for what I call "Kitten Therapy" -- just watching the little kitties play. It's very soothing.

      I'd love to hear your thoughts on Robopocalypse. I really enjoyed it. Except for the OK accents, but it's just my humble personal opinion that they were annoying.

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  10. Aw! Love the old kitty photos! Some things are just meant to be. :)

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    1. Thanks, Alyce! I totally agree. These two were meant to be ours!!!

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