Our Weekend

We spent Saturday kid-free with my parents, they graciously cooked us breakfast and then took us to their new camper. My dad is big about toys, he works very hard- always has but when it comes to relaxing, he works just as hard at it. My parents have had a pontoon boat for a while now and the place they store it has a dock, storage for boats and RV campsites. I hope I said that right.

It's amazing! Here's a picture of the inside...

We lounged outside, my dad showed Michael all the features and they talked about ways to make the cable connection better. My mom is on a home-improvement kick and they just tore down the paneling and wallpaper in their living room at home and put up new drywall- all the electronics and furniture to be replaced as well. Well Michael and Dad talked about electronics for an hour or so after we received the tour of the camper. Mom & I enjoyed listening to them, added our five cents worth in where we could and got some sun.

I told Michael I wanted to go Barnes & Noble to get the books on my reading list since BookMooch didn't have the titles available. He said he was tired after our day with my parents and just wanted to relax. Well, I decided to do a little more research about Kindle vs. Nook- I've been thinking about it for a while but felt I couldn't cross over to the ebook side. After reading the reviews (see New Reading List & Nook) - I had to see one in person. Michael, fabulous man he is, sighed and said, let's go.

Christmas 2010 was horrible for us. Michael and I celebrated with the kids only, we didn't do anything for each other because of the nasty custody battle my ex had started. We didn't spend too much, scared we'd need the money for hotels, traveling or whatever costs may arise when you're fighting a custody battle out of state. Our families helped us to get the 4 kids' Christmases and we were grateful. Between Michael and I, we were fine, we didn't need anything and the only thing we wanted was the kids to have a good time and enjoy Christmas.

We told each other that we'd surprise each other throughout the year with gifts (non-monetary and monetary). So far, we've gone to a concert, gotten our individual bicycles, he's gotten a mandoline that cuts tomatoes so thin (he's becoming quite the cook) and we've gotten a few things for the house inside and out. Nothing too crazy. He tried to convince me last year to get a Kindle or Nook. I wouldn't have anything to do with it- loyal to my books.

I did all the research, I asked the Barnes & Noble Nook expert questions to affirm what I had read in the reviews. Before I could blink, Michael told her that we'd get one and told me to pick out a cover for it. He got me the Nook Color, the kids' books feature was the final selling point for him. For me, it was the ease of use vs the Nook, I liked the way the pages looked, the touch screen, etc.

I read a LOT. I read while riding in the car, at lunch when I'm at work, I sit on our front or back porch and read to relax. I sit with Michael while he watches his techie shows and read- if I laugh or gasp, he pauses the tv and asks what's happening. He doesn't like to read but he reads through me- I share the stories I'm reading and he says that he loves it. He prefers comics or graphic novels, lol- I prefer the movies that come from the comics or graphic novels.

I still have about 1000 books on our home shelves, most of them are non-fiction for the kids. I don't keep many books for myself, I read a fiction book and I'm done with it. I only return to my very favorites. I have checked out the same book from the library before, unknowingly until I realize the story is familiar. About 10 pages in, I realize my mistake and get frustrated. I've never kept a reading journal of the books I've read outside of doing a book club. I think I'll make a tag in my LibraryThing library for books I've read. That way I can keep track and review them. I'll have to explore this idea more. I did see a Book Lover's Journal at Barnes & Noble but I would start it and not keep up with it.

I read Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks on my new Nook Color. It took a little getting adjusted to the viewing a screen instead of a page to read but I'm 100% happy. I love the weight of it and my cover makes it seem like a book.

I can even get online with a WiFi connection, which I can at home anywhere in the house. I love that I can share it with the kids, I can't wait to show them the animated children's books that I've read to them a million times on it. I am such a nerd!

A New Reading List & Nook

I've read Water for Elephants. The book was great, I'm surprised it was written for NaNoWriMo, albeit the research for the book was done beforehand. I want to see the movie, I do know it's different than the book based on the reviews I've seen.

If you haven't read it, try it. I found it fascinating and didn't want to put it down. I'm now done with all the books on my previously made list and have to create another one. Sigh. It's hard to decide WHAT to read. This time I'm going to use the library's book club help.


And surprise, I just read Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks in the last 12 hours..lol. I'll add it to my list here.

I give it 5 stars, as I always do with Mr. Sparks' books. The only way possible to read a 288 page book from 8:00 pm one night to 3:30pm the next day is if it's a great page turner. Within that time, I watched tv with Michael before we went to bed at 10:30 exhausted, cleaned house this morning and I finished the book in-between 1:00-3:30 today.

And I read it on my new Nook Color from Barnes & Noble. I wasn't sure if I could join the ereader enthusiasts. I love books, the weight, the ability to see how long the story will last by the thickness of the book, the mobility of being able to take my book anywhere. BUT- the idea of being able to take multiple books anywhere, to be able to pick a new book without going to the library or waiting for a book to arrive from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or BookMooch was too tempting.

I read about Kindle Vs. Nook Book at CNET and my favorite, ultimate decision making review was The Chicago SunTimes article that highlighted the features of the Nook so well. The LendMe feature, DRM/ePub universal compatibility. Add in that EBooks have had time to gain popularity- being able to get them from the local library and websites like BooksforNooks.com connect Nook readers together to use the LendMe feature of Nook that Kindle doesn't have.





Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt
Written with the skill of a veteran, Rosenfelt's debut legal thriller boasts fresh characters, an engaging narrator, and a plot that forces readers to keep flipping the pages. Andy Carpenter, a defense lawyer, takes on a new client: a man on death row, appealing his conviction for the murder of a woman nearly a decade ago. Andy takes the case as a favor to his father, the district attorney who originally prosecuted the inmate. When Andy's father dies, leaving him 22 million dollars and a 35-year-old photograph, Andy has some tough questions to answer. Where did his father get the money? Who are the men in the photograph? And could one of them have some connection with the murder for which Andy's client was convicted? Andy Carpenter is a welcome addition to the lawyer-as-sleuth roster; he's a charming and witty hero whose literary allusions and snarky asides keep us thoroughly entertained. In addition, the present-tense, diary-style narrative voice adds another layer of dramatic tension, because--as he's writing--Andy has no idea what's going to happen next. As soon as readers finish this remarkable first novel, they will begin clamoring for a second Andy Carpenter adventure. David Pitt Copyright © American Library Association.


In the Woods by Tana French
Rob Ryan and his partner, Cassie Maddox, land the first big murder case of their police careers: a 12-year-old girl has been murdered in the woods adjacent to a Dublin suburb. Twenty years before, two children disappeared in the same woods, and Ryan was found clinging to a tree trunk, his sneakers filled with blood, unable to tell police anything about what happened to his friends. Ryan, although scarred by his experience, employs all his skills in the search for the killer and in hopes that the investigation will also reveal what happened to his childhood friends. In the Woods is a superior novel about cops, murder, memory, relationships, and modern Ireland. The characters of Ryan and Maddox, as well as a handful of others, are vividly developed in this intelligent and beautifully written first novel, and author French relentlessly builds the psychological pressure on Ryan as the investigation lurches onward under the glare of the tabloid media. Equally striking is the picture of contemporary Ireland, booming economically and fixated on the shabbiest aspects of American popular culture. An outstanding debut and a series to watch for procedural fans. Thomas Gaughan Copyright © American Library Association.
 




The House on Tradd Street by Karen White
In this engaging novel from Southern novelist White (The Memory of Water), buttoned-up real estate agent Melanie Middleton, lover of order and all things modern, inherits an old house in Charleston, S.C., from a virtual stranger. Melanie can't help seeing the house as a big white elephant, especially regarding the terms; according to the will, Melanie's required to live in the house for a year, restoring it to its former glory, before she can sell so much as a piece of china. But as the house draws the attention (and ulterior motives) of a colorful group of locals, particularly GQ-handsome journalist Jack Trenholm, Melanie finds she has plenty of volunteers to help out. White skillfully balances her tale at the meeting point of romance, mystery and ghost story. The supernatural elements are not played for scares, but instead refine and reveal Melanie's true character; Melanie and Jack flirt with sparkling, snarky energy, but White also digs deeper, giving Melanie a tragic past that's handled with compassion and realism. A fun and satisfying read, this series kickoff should hook a wide audience. (Nov.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.