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Finished 2 books this weekend!

Deanna — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:16:41 +0000

I love to read, really, I do. But with trying to work full time, raise 5 children and volunteer my free time to Girl Scouts, I don’t get but a few minutes here and there to read. But last week on Wednesday, I started getting this pain in my upper back and by Thursday morning, I couldn’t get out of bed. Though I am recovering (and actually up and moving around), I had about 3 days of staying in bed. Which, as you all know, means READING TIME!

So I finally finished “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger which I had been slowly working through for about a week. And immediately started a new book on my To Be Read list: “The Sweet By and By” by Sara Evans (co-written with Rachel Hauck). Yes, that’s THE Sara Evans, the country star. Well, last night at about 11pm I finished that one, reading by booklight while my husband, The Rock, slept right next to me.

The great thing about both these books is that the plots take place over a period of time, even generations, skipping around from one time period to another. At first, while reading The Time Traveler’s Wife, I found this to be a bit annoying, but as I got deeper into the book, I actually enjoyed it. It really added to the story. Another theme in both these books is true love. While I’ve never really been a romance reader, (as my Mom is) I do enjoy a romantic storyline if it’s not to gushy….LOL I found both of these books to be good reads. Book reviews coming up in the next week or so. And KUDOS to Sara Evans for her first book. It was a good one!

Now I’m on to a book of another sort. “Confessions of SuperMom” by Melanie Lynne Hauser. It should be at least a little entertaining, seeing as I am a Mom. (though I don’t have those super cleaning powers…) The description at Barnes & Noble says:

“Strange things are happening to divorced mother-of-two Birdie Lee since the Horrible Swiffer Accident. She can sense danger (for example, a carload of speeding teenagers without seatbelts) and spring into action with superhuman speed. She can find out what her daughter is doing on the Internet without even having to snoop. And she’s got cleaning powers ordinary women can only dream of.

Warm, witty, and full of heart, Confessions of Super Mom is the tale of a woman who dares to take a stand against everything from stubborn stains to smug exes to corporate CEOs-and winds up defeating evil in some very unexpected ways.”

So far, I’m having trouble getting into it. I’ll give it a couple more chapters before I decide to finish or put it down.

Between Me and the River by Carrie Host

bbdeanna — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:42:38 +0000

Carrie Host’s book Between Me and the River is a moving memoir that chronicles her journey and struggles to survive an incurable form of cancer. In the

book, Carrie shares all the pain, physical and emotional, she went through after her diagnosis. She also relates the guilt she felt and anger at her

new life. But more than that, she provides a story of hope, love and self-awareness that many of us have never felt in our lives.

Host compares her trial in dealing with cancer to falling in a river. Whether sinking into the deep water, rushing toward a waterfall, or resting in an

eddy, it’s easy to identify with her as she explains where in the river she feels on any particular day. Being a mother of five, it is heartwrenching to

read of her account of how she delivered the news of her fate to her children, to follow along as she struggles to do the simplest tasks a mother must do,

and to see her relationship with her husband flourish under the strain of what they have to deal with.

I applaud Carrie for having to courage to write so openly and honestly about her disease. Reading this book has changed my life in a profoud way. It has

made me more patient and loving with my children and more thankful of my husband. While Host’s book at first is a heavy read, as you turn more pages you start to see the positive impact this devastation has on her family, her friends and

her own consciousness.

Carrie Host’s book Between Me and the River is a moving memoir that chronicles her journey and struggles to survive an incurable form of cancer. In the book, Carrie shares all the pain, physical and emotional, she went through after her diagnosis. She also relates the guilt she felt and anger at her new life. But more than that, she provides a story of hope, love and self-awareness that many of us have never felt in our lives.

Host compares her trial in dealing with cancer to falling in a river. Whether sinking into the deep water, rushing toward a waterfall, or resting in an eddy, it’s easy to identify with her as she explains where in the river she feels on any particular day. Being a mother of five, it is heartwrenching to read of her account of how she delivered the news of her fate to her children, to follow along as she struggles to do the simplest tasks a mother must do,and to see her relationship with her husband flourish under the strain of what they have to deal with.

I applaud Carrie for having the courage to write so openly and honestly about her disease. Reading this book has changed my life in a profoud way. It has made me more patient and loving with my children and more thankful of my husband. While Host’s book at first is a heavy read, as you turn more pages you start to see the positive impact this devastation has on her family, her friends

and her own consciousness. Overall I found this book very easy to read, though I had to put it down at times to wipe the tears away. I would definitely keep a tissue handy.

The Noticer by Andy Andrew

bbdeanna — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:08:02 +0000

From a simple man comes simple truths. Truths that are right in front of us every day, but we seldom see. The Noticer by Andy Andrews is a remarkable story about a mysterious old man who appears in the lives of people in the small town of Orange Beach, Alabama just when they need him the most. He calls himself “Jones” and he seems to know everyone by name. Jones drifts in and out of the lives of people in this small town, helping them to gain perspective on each of their life circumstances. He mostly talks to people revealing simple truths that change their lives, never seeming to age as time goes on.

From a group of young teens, to a married couple experiencing communication problems, to another senior who thinks her life has no purpose, Jones seems to know just what to say, just what each person needs to make powerful changes in their lives. For such a quick read, this is a very powerful story that has the potential to change your life around, if you follow the advice of old Jones. Many short stories I’ve read, don’t seem to have much substance and often, not much of a plot either, but this book is very different. The story is full of life and keeps you interested. I couldn’t put it down, and read it all in one sitting. Now Andy Andrews has a new fan. I’m looking forward to reading his other books, especially “The Traveler’s Gift”.