Audiobook Review:
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

 audiobooks, books read in 2019
May 232019
 

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
Philip Gabriel (Translator)
Ray Porter (Narrator)

Audible Audiobook
Listening Length: 4 hours and 23 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Audible.com Release Date: July 29, 2008
Whispersync for Voice: Ready
Language: English, English
ASIN: B001DEWH9E

Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon. Settings range from Tokyo, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvelous lens of sport emerges a cornucopia of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to become a writer, his triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs, and the experience, after fifty, of having seen his race times improve and then fall back.

Thoughts
This was the first book by this author that I’ve read and I’m so glad I decided to try it. It let me into his life and where his mind goes when he’s running. This was a short book at almost 4 1/2 hours, but it seems like a much longer audio (in a good way) because of all the information and descriptions that make you feel as if you are there with him. He travels to a few different places/races and I loved going with him to all of them.

I’m not a runner or a writer, but I loved this book. It lets you into the mindset of Murakami when he’s on a run or writing. It shows how dedicated to both he is. It made me feel like I could do more than I ever thought I could, if I just make up my mind, 100%, to do it.

I’m very glad I listened to. this book. I haven’t quite decided which of his books I’ll choose next, but I will choose one. I may even re-listen to this one in the future. It has a very positive message, with some humor thrown in.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros:

 first chapter first paragraph tuesday intros
May 202019
 

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two of a book that I’m reading or plan to read soon

Feel free to join in by posting your own FCFPTI and linking below

Rumple Buttercup: A Story of Bananas, Belonging, and Being Yourself
by Matthew Gray Gubler

Come close and I’ll tell you a story

Chapter 1
Once upon a time,
Long ago and far away in a tiny town beneath a purple peaked pine tree…
There lived a monster named Rumple Buttercup

He had…
5 crooked teeth, 3 strands of hair, green skin, and his left foot was slightly bigger than his right

He was weird

And so Rumple worried that if anyone ever saw him they would, be scared, run away, or throw rocks at his head
So he spent his entire life hiding underground in a rain drain right by a garbage can in the middle of town where no one would ever see him

Sunday Reflecions, Sunday Salon, Sunday Post: 5/19/19

 Sunday Reflections
May 192019
 

Sunday Reflections

Linking up with:
Sunday Salon
Sunday Post

Outside…
High is supposed to be 92° with light winds and only a 10% chance of rain

Thankful…
For today off work, going to spend some time with my family, and that my oldest grandson got another job that he seems to like a lot more than his old one

Reading…
I decided to buy a copy of the hardcover of  I Ain’t Doin’ It: Unfiltered Thoughts From a Sarcastic Southern Sweetheart by Heather Land instead of borrowing it from the library

Listening To…
Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks

Books Needing Reviewed…
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
Who Laid the Egg? by Audrey Sauble
I’m Fine And Neither Are You by Camille Pagan
Postcards From A Stranger by Imogen Clark

I seriouslyy need to get these reviews caught up! Anyone else behind?

On Hold At The Library…
I have a mix of 6 books waiting for me to pick up

Watching…
I watched the season finale of Survivor and am not at all happy with who won.  I also watched the final 2 shows of The Big Bang Theory and loved both, but am so very very sad the show is over, it was one of my favorites ever! I guess I’m going to start binging it. I’m caught up with The Good Doctor 🙁   so I’m starting Manifest on YouTubeTV next

Mind Body Spirit…
I had blood work done at my doctors visit last week and go back the 28th for the results

In The Kitchen…
I’m not cooking today, we may go to Bahama Breeze or Longhorn Steakhouse

New To Me Stuff:
I’ve never been a fan of nachos, but when the Taco Bell Grande Nachos Box was added to the menu, I had to try. YUM! I LOVE IT! (The site says it’s $5 but where I live it’s $5.99)

Today’s To Do List…
Have to make a menu for the week, not one of my favorite things

Looking forward to…
In a few weeks my daughter will be starting summer vacation (she’s a paraprofessional teacher while she’s getting her master’s degree in education) so we’ll be able to go on day trips again, and I’ll also get to spend more time with my 2 youngest grandkids

A Favorite Bible Verse…
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

– John 14:6

From the camera…

A lone flower in a big area, and a tiny butterfly finds it

Book Review:
The Wonder of Lost Causes by Nick Trout

 books read in 2019
May 142019
 

About The Wonder of Lost Causes

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (April 30, 2019)

In this unforgettable novel, perfect for fans of An Unexpected Grace and A Dog’s Way Home, a single mom and her chronically ill child receive a valuable lesson from an unlikely source—a very special dog who unexpectedly enters their lives and shows them that one person’s lost cause can be another’s greatest gift . . .

Dr. Kate Blunt will do anything for her son, Jasper. Well, almost anything. Since Jasper has the incurable lung disease cystic fibrosis, Kate’s always told him he couldn’t get a dog. It’s a tough call, but she’s a single mom taking care of a kid who fights for every breath he takes. The daily medical routine that keeps Jasper alive is complicated enough. Worse still, Kate’s personal resolve runs contrary to her work as the veterinarian in charge of a Cape Cod animal shelter, where she is on a mission to find forever homes for dogs in desperate need.

The scarred, mistreated wreck of a dog that turns up doesn’t stand a chance. Named Whistler, he’s too old, too ugly. But the dog forms an instantaneous bond with Jasper. Whistler never makes a sound, yet he speaks to Jasper in a myriad of mysterious ways. The clock’s ticking, the dog’s future hangs in the balance, and Jasper would do anything to find him a home; but Whistler has chosen them—for a reason.

Thoughts
This is my first Trout book, and it  is so good that I don’t even know where to start.  I feel like anything I say will not do it justice. It made me feel so many emotions from the first paragraph to the last and my thoughts still keep going back to the book.

Kate has a lot to deal with at the animal shelter, caring for/worrying about Jasper, and then Whistler was added to the mix. Jasper and Whistler stole my heart from the beginning.

This book is about the special bond that can happen between a person and a dog.  A lot happens in the book, some good, some bad, some sad, and will make you very emotional. The story has many layers and I would love for it to become a  movie.

I would recommend this book to both animal lovers and those who aren’t. I have very seldom ever read a book a second time, but I will read this again. I also plan to read his other books. The Wonder Of Lost Causes is one of the best books I’ve ever read.

#thewonderoflostcauses

@tlcbooktours

@williammorrowbooks

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

About Nick Trout

Dr. Nick Trout works full-time as a staff surgeon at the prestigious Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston. He is the author of five previous books, including the New York Times bestseller Tell Me Where It Hurts, and his writing has been translated into sixteen different languages. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Kathy; their daughter, Emily; their adopted labradoodle, Thai; and Emily’s service dog, a black Labrador named Bella.

Find out more about him at his website.

 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros:
Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks

 first chapter first paragraph tuesday intros
May 132019
 

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two of a book that I’m reading or plan to read soon

Feel free to join in by posting your own FCFPTI and linking below

Her One Mistake

Her One Mistake by Heidi Perks

NOW

My name is Charlotte Reynolds. I lean forward to speak into the microphone, though I’m not sure why. It just feels imperative that I at least get my name across clearly. Reaching out for the glass in front of me, I grip it between my fingertips, pushing it slowly in counterclockwise circles, watching the water inside ripple.

The clock on the otherwise bare white wall flashes 9:16 p.m. in bright red lights. My children should be in bed by now. Tom said he would stay the night and sleep in the spare room. “Don’t worry,” he told me when I called him earlier. “I won’t go anywhere until you’re home.” That isn’t what I’m worrying about, but I didn’t say as much.

Kindle Review:
The Complete Keto Diet Cookbook For Beginners:
With 21-Day Meal Plan by Mandy Cook

 books read in 2019, cookbook
May 072019
 

The Complete Keto Diet Cookbook For Beginners 2019 by Mandy Cook

The Complete Keto Diet Cookbook For Beginners With 21-Day Meal Plan by Mandy Cook

File Size: 1341 KB
Print Length: 167 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publication Date: January 19, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07MYMV2LX

Do you want the healthy lifestyle you have always dreamt of?
Do you want to go keto , but don’t know where to start?

In this cookbook you will learn: My personal journey and struggles with diets. What is the ketogenic diet – what foods you can and can’t eat. What are the main benefits and how you can maximise them Tips and ticks how to make living on the keto easier. 21-day meal plan to make the start of your journey easier. 75 healthy, quick and easy to make recipes
All of these recipes are made with common ingredients that deliver great flavor and stunning aromas. They are approved by my husband and my guests who often come over for dinner. They are designed to guide you every step of the way in order to prepare the best keto foods ever.

Thoughts
This book was full of recipes that look very easy to make but they had a lot of ingredients that I rarely if ever use and the directions were not very clear on some of the recipes. I like recipes that use more simple, everyday ingredients. I also wish there were photos for at least some of the recipes.

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros:
Evidence Of The Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 first chapter first paragraph tuesday intros
May 062019
 

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two of a book that I’m reading or plan to read soon

Feel free to join in by posting your own FCFPTI and linking below

Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid

December 10, 1976

Dear Mr. David Mayer,

My name is Carrie Allsop. Please accept my apologies for contacting you out of the blue. I am writing to ask a quite humbling favor. I recently found some love letters in my husband’s briefcase that I believe to be from your wife, Janet.

I suspect my husband, Ken Allsop, met your wife at a medial conference in Coronado three months ago. It seems as if they have been sleeping together since then. I have come to this conclusion because the letters from your wife to my husband include reverences to a relationship of a sexual nature.

 

I usually don’t read or listen to books like this but when I saw Susie post about this book I found the aspect of the spouses of the two having an affair intriguing. It’s a short story at only 1 hr. 19 min.

Kindle Review: Scavenger Scout: Rock Hound:
Seek-and-Find Book for Kids Who Love Rocks by Shelby Wilde

 books read in 2019
May 062019
 

Scavenger Scout: Rock Hound: Seek-and-Find Book for Kids Who Love Rocks

Scavenger Scout: Rock Hound: Seek-and-Find Book for Kids Who Love Rocks by Shelby Wilde
Illustrated byYana Popova

File Size: 5270 KB
Print Length: 22 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publication Date: September 3, 2018
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07GQTJN7F

Scavenger Scout is not an ordinary seven-year-old. She’s a rock hound! Hunting for rocks is her passion and she loves to show and tell. The stories she tells are more fantasy than reality, but the rocks she hunts are real. Follow along as she haggles with a host of characters to add rocks to her collection. Follow Scout as she hunts for azurite, alexandrite and fluorite and find the rock on every page!

STEM-inspired story that encourages creative problem solving
Scavenger Scout uses science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) concepts to overcome the challenges she faces. Kids will delight in the real-life rock hounding tools Scout uses such as a crack hammer, chisel or a rock hammer. Kids can use their powers of observation to search for the rock on each page and come up with hypotheses for how they would get each of the rocks home.

Seek-and-Find Element
The story of Scavenger Scout will appeal to kids who love to hunt and who love adventure, so why not give them the opportunity to help Scout find the rock on every page? In each vignette, Scout hunts for a different rock and kids get to hunt with her! The difficulty level varies with each page so even kids as young as 2 or 3 will be able to find the rocks.

“Scavenger Scout: Rock Hound” is the perfect holiday gift or birthday gift, but would also be a great gift for when your favorite Scout moves up from Daisies to Brownies or Bobcat to Tiger Cub or Scout to Tenderfoot.

This book is the first book in a series and is crafted for ages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, preschool and kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade.

Thoughts
This is a very cute book about a 7 yr. old girl who loves looking for all kinds of rocks. Her rock hunting takes her to a variety of locations as she chisels, hammers, etc.  her way to getting the rocks she wants, and uses clever ways to get them back home.

This book reminded me of my mom. She too loved rocks and loved to travel so every state etc. she visited she brought back a rock. She and my dad traveled a lot so she had a large collection. I have a few of the rocks in my yard.

I enjoyed the story and loved the beautiful illustrations. This is a book I think all young children will like.

A rhyme at the end of the book that I loved:
“Do you search for minerals everywhere?”
“Do you have more rocks than underwear?”

Sunday Reflecions, Sunday Salon, Sunday Post: 5/5/19

 photos, Sunday Reflections, Sunday Salon, Sundsy Post
May 052019
 

Sunday Reflections

Linking up with:
Sunday Salon
Sunday Post

Outside…
84°, raining hard & very windy with a severe thunderstorm warning

Thankful…
That my son Anthony who has been sick since last Friday is feeling better

Reading…
Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro

Listening To…
Still listening to Postcards from a Stranger by Imogen Clark, just getting to the good stuff

Books Needing Reviewed…
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
Who Laid the Egg? by Audrey Sauble
I’m Fine And Neither Are You by Camille Pagan

On Hold At The Library…
I Ain’t Doin’ It: Unfiltered Thoughts From a Sarcastic Southern Sweetheartby Heather Land

Watching…
I plan on catching up with The Good Doctor as much as I can today. The last few episodes have been so good. I’m getting ready to start S2E5

Mind Body Spirit…
Going to the dr. on Friday to have blood work done

In The Kitchen…
Today: Sweet and Sticky Four Ingredient Chicken Drumsticks, Anastasia’s Best-Ever Baked Beans & Cole Slaw

New To Me Stuff:
I haven’t tried anything new this last week

Today’s To Do List…
Nothing much other than cooking supper, reading, tv

Looking forward to…
I’m hoping my son and I go on a road trip tomorrow,  if he’s feeling good enough of course

A Favorite Bible Verse…
Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV)
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

From the camera…

Jaspurr found the laptop fan & loves laying there so the warm air hits her

Audiobook Review:
The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey

 reviews
May 022019
 

The Beantown Girls

The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey

Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen

Audible Audiobook
Listening Length: 11 hours and 14 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Audible.com Release Date: February 5, 2019

A novel of love, courage, and danger unfolds as World War II’s brightest heroines—the best of friends—take on the front lines.

1944: Fiona Denning has her entire future planned out. She’ll work in city hall, marry her fiancé when he returns from the war, and settle down in the Boston suburbs. But when her fiancé is reported missing after being shot down in Germany, Fiona’s long-held plans are shattered.

Determined to learn her fiancé’s fate, Fiona leaves Boston to volunteer overseas as a Red Cross Clubmobile girl, recruiting her two best friends to come along. There’s the outspoken Viviana, who is more than happy to quit her secretarial job for a taste of adventure. Then there’s Dottie, a shy music teacher whose melodious talents are sure to bring heart and hope to the boys on the front lines.

Chosen for their inner strength and outer charm, the trio isn’t prepared for the daunting challenges of war. But through it all come new friendships and romances, unforeseen dangers, and unexpected dreams. As the three friends begin to understand the real reasons they all came to the front, their courage and camaraderie will see them through some of the best and worst times of their lives.

Thoughts
I first saw this book when Elizabeth reviewed it. I am usually not one to step out of my comfort genres, and really don’t read books of any kind with a war theme, but Elizsbeth’s review was so positive and upbeat that I thought maybe, just maybe, I’d like it too. And I did. I loved it!

The book is very well written and the story has a great flow. I enjoyed all the characters, every one of them. Fiona, Viv, and Dottie were all braver than I think I would have been, volunteering overseas as Red Cross Clubmobile girls and risking their lives. Although this was a new way of daily living for the girls, they adjusted quickly. Some of the soldiers were not very happy that they were there, at least at first, but once they met them and got used to the treat of getting donuts and coffee etc. from them the were very happy they were there.

The book is happy, sad, scary, and even has some love ad and entertainment in it. The author describes the area where the girls go, their clothes, what they do, and the war so that you can see it in your mind. I don’t think she left one detail out.

The narrator was so easy to listen to, she did a great job! This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author but if she can make me love a book centered around that time/war, I would read anything by her. I give this a 5*!

You can read A Brief History of Red Cross Clubmobiles in W.W. II HERE

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros:
Postcards From a Stranger by Imogen Clark

 first chapter first paragraph tuesday intros
Apr 292019
 

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two of a book that I’m reading or plan to read soon

Feel free to join in by posting your own FCFPTI and linking below

Postcards From a Stranger by Imogen Clark

Chapter One

Cara, 2017

“I can’t do this on my own anymore!”

I shout it down the phone. I don’t mean to shout. It’s just how my voice comes out. “I need some help,” I say more quietly.
I put my hand over the mouthpiece to muffle my voice.
“Dad” I plead. “Stop making that racket.”

Dad looks at me, his eyes mildly curious, but he does not stop. The crack of metal spoon on wooden table continues to pummel my delicate nerve endings. I remember the advice that I got from the specialist-care team and take another deep breath. “Please”! I add with the best smile I can muster.

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