reading

Review of “Smitten”: Four (very similar) stories in one

December 30, 2011

After a good start on my reading goal, I read only one book in the past two months. Or was it four? “Smitten” is a book by four Christian fiction authors (Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt and Denise Hunter) that makes sense as a whole but each story can stand on its own. Four friends plan to turn Smitten, Vt., a former male-dominated mill town, into a romantic getaway, and along the way each one falls in love with someone they’ve known for ages. I’m a sucker for the fall-in-love-with-a-friend (or in one case here, enemy) stories even if...

What I’ve been reading

October 17, 2011

I set a goal at the beginning of the year to read 26 books. That’s one every two weeks. With only 11 weeks left to go, I’m half way to my goal. I’ve read several books from my original want-to-read list and several that I’ve found along the way. Here’s what I’ve read so far and brief thoughts on them. Firefly Summer by Maeve Binchy. I reviewed this when I read it. In a few words, though, I loved it. Irish America: Coming Into Clover by Maureen Dezell. I grabbed this at Half-Price Books on a...

Hot read for a cold day: Firefly Summer by Maeve Binchy

January 21, 2011

If you’re lucky enough to be able to spend this sub-frigid day in bed and are looking for a good read, I recommend “Firefly Summer” by Maeve Binchy. And yes, it’s available for Kindle, so you don’t even need to venture to the library! I’ve ready about 10 of Binchy’s 15 novels and this is among my favorites (along with “Scarlet Feather,” “Light a Penny Candle” and “Circle of Friends”). Most of her novels, including this one, are set in Ireland in the mid-20th century and have a slew of well developed characters. “Firefly Summer” spans four years in...

26 Books In 52 Weeks

January 10, 2011

These are the books I have in mind so far to read for my goal of reading 26 books this year. I’m open to suggestions for more but want to also leave room to read as the spirit moves me. Many on the list have been on my list for quite some time and came recommended but I can no longer remember by whom. The first three are already in progress. I’m reading “Wicked” on my breaks at work, as many of you suggested it in my 20 questions post. It was not at all what I expected at...

Growing in happiness

May 12, 2010

What perfect timing! Two people I follow wrote great posts today about happiness. Just as I was ready to launch this new site, inspired by “The Happiness Project.” Then I see that they wrote these posts as part of a blog carnival, which today and tomorrow is about happiness. So I’m jumping in. When I began blogging in November 2007, I had no idea what I was doing. I have since learned a lot about blogging and about myself. I had decided, according to my first post, to write about “all the things I strive to do and be,”...

Daily schedule to end “drifting”

April 13, 2010

I’ve often wondered why I am able to be organized, proactive and on top of things professionally while my home is a mess, my library books are late and I’m in my jammies till noon. I found the answer — and it is simple — in “The Procrastinator’s Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now” by Rita Emmett.* She calls it the “Drifting Along” method of procrastination. Because home is less structured, without deadlines or a set schedule, I drift along all day, all week, all month without getting much done. I’ve tried many tactics to combat this...

Time for “Time-In”

January 14, 2010

I finished reading Time-In: When Time-Out Doesn’t Work, and I want to share what I found to be the important points for our family. Here is the premise: “Time-In is a practical process that teaches children how to be competent, to think, and to succeed. It uses four tools, Ask, Act, Attend, and Amend, which fit together like interchangeable puzzle pieces. Time-In addresses discipline and misbehavior while strengthening the connection the child has with the parent or teacher.” The four basic steps are: Stop the unwanted behavior Ask yourself, “What does the child need to learn about this?” Use one or...

furlough fun

March 6, 2009

I was off work for a week, and the rest of the family was gone for three of those days. So, what did I do? Not blog obviously! The day the kids left I never even got out of my PJs. I read a whole book that day (Kiss) and finished another (Deader Than a Doornail) the night before. I got my first LendAround movie (No Country for Old Men). It works really slick. You just request what you want and theowner mails it to you. When you are done, you click a link and it tellsyou to either...

odds and ends

January 31, 2008

I’ve composed many blog posts in my head over the past week but haven’t had (or made) the time to sit down and type them out. They’re all gone now but here’s a little recap of the week. Grace and I returned to the library Wednesday afternoon. She played a computer game and picked out some books to take home. I returned the book I checked out three weeks before (Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons) I can’t remember the last time I finished a book without renewing it! I stayed up reading it for two hours Tuesday night because...

Can I part with them?

January 11, 2008

As I’ve been reading more and thinking more about reading lately, I’ve been pondering my collection of Stephen King paperbacks. I rarely read anything by King anymore. I have read maybe half of my collection and will certainly not re-read those that I have finished in the next decade. They take up at least one whole book shelf (I’m pretty sure there are more in a box somewhere) and I don’t have a lot of bookshelf space to spare. So what is the sense of this hoarding? It’s silly, right? But I’ve had them for almost half my lifetime...

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