Tuesday, June 17, 2008

A Brief Update and a Smooch

First the smooch.

Isn't that a sweet photo? I went for a drive out to the local prairie dog village and there are tons of youngsters. I'll have to go visit them, again. I could sit all day watching the kids play. Sending virtual hugs to all my blog buddies. I'm missing you!

And, an update:

Not that we're unusual in this, but we've had loads of storms and even a trip to Burger King has been a little difficult to squeeze in. Last time I was here (Saturday), the signal was hinky and I couldn't post a thing. Since I'm getting good work done at my mother's house, I'll probably be here another week and then I hope to get back to blog-hopping when I return home. I miss visiting everyone and reading your posts!!

Bookwise, I've finished the following:

Simple Genius - David Baldacci (audio - listened to it on the drive up) - found this one way over the top, but the author's notes at the end made sense of some of the historical background.

Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert - Loved it! The portion set in India bored me, at first, but I loved the way that section ended and enjoyed the final third. It ended up a big thumbs up, at least for me. I've noticed reviews on this one are quite polarized.

Overcoming Hurts and Anger - Dwight L. Carson, M.D. - This one came from a stack of books that I'm referring to as my mother's "angst pile". I read it out of curiosity but it was really fascinating and more about discovering how the reader can determine how s/he handles anger and what to change in order to handle daily hurts more effectively than about overcoming past hurts. I really enjoyed reading it and learned quite a bit about myself and my family.

Facts the Historians Leave Out: A Confederate Primer - John S. Tilley - Originally copyrighted in 1951, this one is from my mother's collection of history books. At only 76 pages, it was a very quick read and engrossing. I don't agree with everything Tilley said, but then there's a lot I don't know. It's basically a book that defends Southerners and describes the basis for Confederate secession and I found it very informative.

In the Land of Dreamy Dreams - Ellen Gilchrist - for the Southern Reading Challenge. The verdict: that new cover shown in my previous post is probably stock art and absolutely does not fit the book at all. Most of the stories are set in the South, all have at least a few Southern characters and there's only brief mention of a kimono in someone's closet -- no other Asian references. New Orleans and Mississippi are heavily featured and the stories are amazing. I'll try to do a full review of this one when I return home. It's a great book.

Return from Tomorrow - George Ritchie with Elizabeth Sherrill - Another book in the same vein as 90 Minutes in Heaven (published in 1978 -- the fact that the author's experience occurred during WWII makes the background alone worth the read) but a little harder to believe as the man claimed his spirit tried to travel to Richmond, Virginia and he realized he had left his body when he reached (of all places) Vicksburg, Mississippi. So, he turned around and floated back to where his body lay covered by a sheet . . . and then met up with Christ. I got a kick out of the Vicksburg portion, but I found myself struggling not to laugh or at least roll my eyes. Sorry.

Early Widow - Mary Jane Worden - Another book I read purely out of curiosity. My mother was widowed at 56 and I was so wrapped up in my own grief that I guess I just wanted to know what her side of losing my father was like. It was a heart-rending, grab-the-tissues book. But, it also spoke of healing as it was the journal of a young widow and each month brought progress in her healing and that of her children.

About to finish: The Queen of Sleepy Eye by Patti Hill

Not sure what I'm going to read next. I'm having fun digging through my mother's books. It's been a beautiful day, although it's clouding up, now. Here's a photo from my mother's garden, taken during a sunny break:

Wishing everyone sunny days and happy thoughts!

Little Bookfool on the Prairie

31 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:32 PM

    Love that photo! I also agree about Simple Genius. I didn't finish the book.

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  2. Hi J. Kaye!

    Wow, that was fast. I'm still at BK. :) Thank you. And, I'm glad you agree. I think Simple Genius is typical of what often happens with big-name authors who can write anything and sell on the basis of their name. I've got a couple more audios by him and I may just trade them and stick with newer authors.

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  3. Glad you're doing well and we've missed you as well. :) Wow that is a lot of books! I was one of the few, I think, who didn't LOVE Eat Pray Love, but I enjoyed it. Isn't Richard from Texas great? He made the India portion for me. Look forward to your book thoughts...

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  4. Awww, love your photos so much! I'm still learning how to make the most of my digital camera (only had one for a couple of months now). You have a wonderful eye!

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  5. That photo of the prairie dogs is just too cute for words. It melted my cold hard heart just a wee bit.

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  6. Awwwww...

    The dogs are adorable! And I'd kill for a slice of blue sky like in the flower photo. All we've had here is rain, rain, and more rain!

    I'm glad to hear that things are going fairly well. Going through the library does sound like an amazing adventure.

    cjh

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  7. Glad to see you're reading well. And I'm on the "pro" Eat Pray Love team . . .
    Enjoy Oklahoma - that's the state where I first learned what "flat" meant.

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  8. Anonymous12:57 AM

    The smooch is so cute!

    And ah! As soon as I saw Dreamy Dream I wondered what the verdict would be.

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  9. You won the pecans! I'll need your address, please.
    mmoranATnorthwestmsDOTedu

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  10. What a cute photo! My, what a lot of reading you've gotten accomplished. I'm jealous, because I just don't seem to have my reading groove on. Not sure why.

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  11. Wishing you a sunny day too! That photo is just too cute! You need to submit it to cuteoverload :)

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  12. Aww, that is the sweetest picture!!
    And "Little Bookfool on the Prairie" made me smile. Glad you're making progress on the house. It'll be nice to have you back again. :)

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  13. That Prairie Dog picture is entirely too cute..sickeningly so :p I didn't know that they kissed!

    I've been missing you too but I had no idea that you haven't been posting, lol! I've just been away from blogging too due to the job, so don't feel bad at all for being away. You're not the only one. You just can't help it sometimes.

    You've gotten a ton of reading done! I've got nothing this month...I've read all of 3 books so far this month. Beautiful garden pic! Enjoy the rest of your stay :)

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  14. Wow! Just look at that pile of reading you've done...I'd be jealous, except for the thought that I'd then feel like I should be reviewing them all. This is much better, now I can just look forward to your reviews!

    Those prairie dogs are too dang cute for words!

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  15. What an absolutely fabulous pic!! You really need to get paid for some of these... and reading!! jeesh you are gonna pass me by. Glad things are going well and hope you get back home soon!

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  16. Anonymous4:06 PM

    What a great pic!! I love it! You need to get a paying job taking pictures. And reading.. u are gonna blow me away this month. Hope you get all finished soon and can head home.

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  17. I miss prairie dogs...sniff...

    Eat, Pray and Love is on my TBR...and I've got it down for the In Their Shoes challenge...what am I waiting for?

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  18. Glad to hear you're making progress and getting lots of reading done. Big hugs to you, and I miss youuuuu!

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  19. Cute picture!

    Glad you're getting some reading in. I really enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love, too. It's winging its way to TX as I type. My daughter sounded very interested so I'm passing it on to her. I never thought the day would come when she'd get excited about getting a book! :)

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  20. That's pretty much the cutest picture ever! Made me smile! =D

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  21. Trish,

    Thanks! It's waaaay too quiet in that empty house. At the very least it could use a cat. LOL Hopefully, I'll be home by Wednesday. I've had enough of quiet and very little internet play time. :)

    You can imagine why I've managed to read so much with nobody around! I really did love Eat, Pray, Love but I've read mixed reviews and kind of thought I'd hate it. In the end, I found myself thinking it was a keeper.

    Heather,

    Thank you. I take about a million photos -- kind of love/hate digital cameras. It's easy to load the photos and you don't have to worry about anyone losing film, but the quality still isn't quite there (or, maybe my camera just needs updating). You should definitely go for it. :)

    Cupcake,

    Awww, now, we all know you have a warm, squishy heart. LOL And, thank you. :)

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  22. CJ,

    Thank you! I'm sorry you've been getting all that rain. It becomes annoying and somewhat depressing, after a while, doesn't it? Whenever we have a sunny day, I've been taking advantage of the fact that my mother's neighborhood has sidewalks and leash laws. Wahoo! Walks without worry about being bitten or mushed! Going through the library is definitely fun. :)

    Andi,

    Yay, another Eat, Pray, Love fan! Okay, so "flat" as in tire? That's a bad association. Yeeks.

    Carrie,

    Aren't they sweet? I was pretty sure that Dreamy Dreams cover was all wrong. I wonder if they consider the other too dated.

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  23. Maggie,

    Cool, thanks! I'll write asap. :)

    Tara,

    I hope you get your groove back, soon. I'm able to read a lot more with nobody around to ask favors of me, few errands to run and long, quiet evenings.

    Iliana,

    I'm not familiar with cute overload. I'll have to look for it when I have more time! And, thank you. :)

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  24. Nat,

    Thank you! I'm still making progress, but I think it's going to take a couple more months of work before the house is really ready to sell. It's a heck of a job. I've thrown out 12 bags full of paper trash, old clothing, junky doodads, etc. Whew! :)

    Chris,

    Thank you! Aren't they cute? I don't know whether the prairie dogs were really kissing or just sniffing, but they were adorable. LOL

    I didn't realize you've been away, since I can't blog-hop. There's now a time limit at BK. Sucky.

    I've read a lot because there's nobody around. I'm glad you're busy with work. It's better than no work, right? :)

    Debi,

    I hope I'll be able to find the time to review them all when I get home. I'm sure the guys are creating a total disaster for me to clean up. :)

    Thank you!

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  25. Paula,

    Thanks! I'm completely ignorant about how to sell photos. I suppose I should look into it. It's the quiet that is giving me a chance to read. Still, I'm getting anxious to get home. :)

    I think you just wrote twice. I'm set to approve comments, sorry.

    Bybee,

    You've mentioned missing the prairie dogs, at some other occasion when I was home. They are loads of fun to watch, aren't they?

    Definitely hurry up and read E,P,L. I want to read your thoughts when I get back!

    Andiloo,

    Thanks, babe. It's a crap job, but I'm glad it's going well. The best part is the fact that sister is working during the week, so I can sort without her. I had no idea she was so disorganized!!! Miss you, too! :)

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  26. Les,

    Thank you. :)

    I would have passed E,P,L on to my mother. Oh, well. I need to find someone else with her taste. It's great sharing books with family, isn't it? I would love to have passed that one on to my sister, but she claims she has no time to read. I bit my tongue and didn't say anything at all about priorities!

    Megan,

    Thank you! I'm glad the photo made you smile! :)

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  27. 'nobody around to ask favors of me, few errands to run and long, quiet evenings.'

    I'm not getting any of that, so maybe that's why! And that's just as it should be in my life right now. ;-)

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  28. The photo of the prairie dogs is adorable. I am glad you were able to check in!

    I eventually hope to weigh in on Eat, Pray, Love--once I read it. Like you, I have heard mixed reviews--some people love it and others hate it.

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  29. That picture is too darn cute! It made me smile sitting at this computer. I like how you read such a collection of genres; you motivate me to expand my reading into more than fiction and historical fiction. And mystery. What I mean is, how about some of them there self help books, Bellezza?

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  30. Tara,

    I've been enjoying it while it lasts -- lots of packing to do, but when I take a break and sit down with a book, my time has been all mine. In a few days that won't be the case. I don't advise killing off a relative for the free time, though. It's been quite a massive job going through my mother's possessions. I'll be glad to get away from her mess and back to my own chaos! :)

    Wendy,

    Thank you. They're so freaking cute, those prairie dogs!

    I hope you love Eat, Pray, Love. I think it may also depend a lot upon when you read it. It was the right time for me. I liked her thoughts on spirituality. :)

    Bellezza,

    You crack me up. Them there self-help books seem to be either at one end of the spectrum (trite, repetitive, pointless) or the other (useful, intelligent, decent advice), so I advise picking up and flipping through them before you dig in. I've enjoyed reading from my mother's "angst" pile. The book about managing hurts and anger was good.

    And, yeah, aren't those prairie dogs just the sweetest? That picture makes me smile, too. I think I need a copy to hang on the wall. It's Positive Nature -- you know, not the bit where they're shredding each other. I love the sweet nature moments. :)

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  31. Tara,

    I've been enjoying it while it lasts -- lots of packing to do, but when I take a break and sit down with a book, my time has been all mine. In a few days that won't be the case. I don't advise killing off a relative for the free time, though. It's been quite a massive job going through my mother's possessions. I'll be glad to get away from her mess and back to my own chaos! :)

    Wendy,

    Thank you. They're so freaking cute, those prairie dogs!

    I hope you love Eat, Pray, Love. I think it may also depend a lot upon when you read it. It was the right time for me. I liked her thoughts on spirituality. :)

    Bellezza,

    You crack me up. Them there self-help books seem to be either at one end of the spectrum (trite, repetitive, pointless) or the other (useful, intelligent, decent advice), so I advise picking up and flipping through them before you dig in. I've enjoyed reading from my mother's "angst" pile. The book about managing hurts and anger was good.

    And, yeah, aren't those prairie dogs just the sweetest? That picture makes me smile, too. I think I need a copy to hang on the wall. It's Positive Nature -- you know, not the bit where they're shredding each other. I love the sweet nature moments. :)

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