Suzanne Brockmann writes interesting books, and this is no exception. I stumbled across one of her books a few years ago. She writes military fiction (Navy Seals) with characters you enjoy, rolled up with passion for work and each other, as well as the requisite love story, a little danger and a lot of action. I haven’t read her books in any particular order, but each book concentrates more on one of the characters than another in a continuing saga of sorts.
This book is a love story about a hero and a hero. It is not heterosexual. She writes with compassion and understanding. Her son Jason is gay, she tells us in an addendum, and she lives in Massachusetts with her husband, author Ed Gaffney.
The book is set in Boston where Jules and Robin are going to be married, taking each other as life partners. Along the way, both of their lives are endangered — Jules because of his work and Robin because he is (they are) peripherally stalked.
I wouldn’t say this is the best of her books. There is less action, though what there is takes place in Afghanistan. For the most part, it is a love story. She ties present feelings and actions to past and childhood events. She makes you care for her characters’ hurts, which is a skill in itself.
This product is one I tried on the strength of others’ recommendations. I really love it!
Not only is it good for my skin, leaving it slightly moisturized but not oily, it leaves no tub ring. I have a chocolate brown tub, so that is really important for me. Plus, even the residual bubbles at the bottom leave no evidence when the tub dries. And the bubbles last through my whole bath.
And, to top it off, when it is not on sale it is only $7.99.
I’m glad someone shared this or I never would have tried it. I bought a scented one for my kids. I’ll let you know how they like it.
Karin
How well do you like Avon Bubble Bath for sensitive skin?
I know several people who are Fannie Flagg fans, but this is the first book I’ve read of hers. Two different people loaned it to me at two different times, and I finally got around to really getting into it vs. just looking through it. The second time it was loaned to me, I was told that she laughed all the way through and just loved it.
It took me a while to get into this book (obviously!) Every character has a narration voice — that takes a bit of getting used to, but makes the book more interesting. It truly was a funny book. I suspect we’d feel this way if we were cognizant of other people’s thought processes.
Flagg looks at her subjects with compassion. Their foibles are highlighted, but gently.
Imagine the consternation when a beloved older member of the community is pronounced dead, then several hours later abruptly sits up in the hospital and starts talking. The village hot line broadcasts her death immediately. Neighbors go in to straighten her house. They are all in mourning. We learn why she is so beloved, the many kindly things (and much more interesting than her daughter or son-in-law would expect) she has done over the years. We learn how she spends her time when she is dead. Throw in assorted characters: a would-be rapist; a murder; a hidden gun; a hidden body; a young man lifted out of his circumstances; the popular hair dresser; the obsessive daughter; the hospital attorney; the son-in-law who stops every day before going to work…
It’s really a lovely book, one that makes you think, one that makes you smile and laugh out loud, one with a bit of melancholy, but hope for a life well lived. I enjoyed her time between death and living again.
For those of us who wonder what it might be like if our Chinese child were still in China in their first family, here is an interesting article.
I also thought it was interesting that his parents chose the English name for him of: Seven Eleven (not Jack, for example.)
Some of our adopted Chinese children came with what sounded to us like odd names. Others of us were lucky enough to have someone tell us that the name occurs in a famous ancient poem, perhaps, one that is not commonly known to the modern scholar.
We went to see Indiana Jones/Crystal Skull today. And we all enjoyed it. It was very satisfying.
Who can see the hat or hear the music without knowing that it is Indy!
Well, it was very satisfying. I know I said this. Still, it was satisfying. Worth the wait. The right time frame for an interesting movie. Spielberg created the world of 1957.
Lots of action, humor, clever dialogue, clever touch backs to other movies, a bit of love interest, a revelation, a bit of reminder of the last Indiana Jones movie, Cate Blanchett (beautiful as always, even with dark hair, and effectively evil with her accent and piercing eyes), Shia LaBeouf (I thought of him more as James Dean than Marlon Brando) (very fun to watch), Karen Allen (you go, girl!), and of course Harrison Ford (who is like Sean Connery — they just get better as they age)…
The theater filled up by the time the show started. There wasn’t a dull moment. It isn’t Shakespeare, but it sure is fun.
Karin
How well did you like Indiana Jones Crystal Skull?
Outside of the fact that twilight is one of my favorite times of day, I was intrigued by an article in our paper a couple of weeks ago or so mentioning this author and her books. There was something about the fact that one of her books outsold one of the Harry Potter books, which seemed intriguing in itself. I’d never heard of her.
So, I gave the article to College Girl (now graduated.) Then I encouraged her to follow up on her, which we did via the library.
Lo and behold, there is a 4th book in the series coming out this summer, and a movie that will be coming out soon also. Somehow it seems fitting that the actor who plays Edward in the book (and therefore cannot die) played Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter books (and was sadly killed to the sorrow of the Diggory fans.)
In a matter of days CG had read two of her books and is on tap for the 3rd. She said it took her about 100 pages to get really interested.
I would say it interested me from the beginning, but the beginning is very hard to read due to the author’s style of choppy sentences — a string of incomplete sentences making up a sentence. It slows me down and is aggravating. I didn’t notice it later in the book, perhaps because there is more dialogue.
Basically it is a high school love story between a girl and a high school (albeit older) vampire. Throw in a few Native Americans who warn her (and thereby tell her before Edward tells her himself) a lot of overcast and dreary weather, divorced parents, a vampire tracker and assorted other characters, and you get the basic picture.
If Twilight is about finding true love, and New Moon is about losing true love, then Eclipse is about choosing true love.
Stephanie Meyer
The author defines the difference between vampires who feed on humans and vampires who feed on animals. It is an interesting premise.
What is there about vampires lately? Twilight is not nearly as complex as the Dresden Files. It hasn’t the humor. But I did like it, and I will read the others. I will likely start the second book today.
I appreciated the title and subtitle of this book for its cleverness: Forced to Be Family: A Guide for Living with Sinister Sisters, Drama Mamas, and Infuriating In-Laws. The author has also written a number of other books.
I enjoyed looking through this book, reading whatever caught my eye. It has some good strategies, most of which are common sense, and a lot of stories from real life.
If you’ve lived any of these scenarios, you know there isn’t a one size fits all for the subject at hand. You may have already found a path that works for you, but if you would like other insights, this book might be an interesting place to start.
