Monday, June 8, 2015

Bad Blogger

It would appear that I have become quite lackadaisical about my blogging. I have good intentions but you know what they say about that!

“A good intention, with a bad approach, often leads to a poor result.”  Thomas A Edison

So there you are. Good intentions not followed through.

I have still been reading, about the only thing I'm doing on a regular basis. I've gotten way behind on my listing so here goes:

2015 Reading Challenge - 50 books
Read to date - 24 books

Time Bomb - Jonathan Kellerman

Another great book from Mr. Kellerman. I really enjoy his Alex Delaware series. Alex is a psychologist who's best friend is a police detective named Milo Sturgis. They investigate the shooting at a school which leads to other killings. The father of the girl who was the shooter (she was killed, btw) hires Alex to do a profile of his daughter. The interactions and the reasons for everything kept me guessing until the end. Love that.

Death's Acre -  William Bass

This is the story of how the Body Farm was built. The Body Farm is located in Knxoville, TN behind the University of Tennessee Hospital. Knoxville is about 60 miles southwest of where I live. It was interesting to learn how the ideas came about and how they developed the Farm into what it is today - a leading forensic laboratory studying the decomposition of bodies. I know that sounds morbid but it has helped many investigators determine how and when someone was killed. He also discussed some of the more "famous" in Knoxville that he dealt with.

Wild:From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail - Cheryl Strayed

One of the best books I've read that also happens to be a true story. It opens with one of her boots falling off the ridge down the side of a mountain. After watching it disappear into the woods below, the throws the other boot as hard as she can after it. My admiration for this woman grew as the book progressed. She had never hiked in the wilderness and after her mother died and her life fell apart, she decided to do this. Along the way, she met lots of friends and a couple of threatening situations, but all in all, she became more aware of herself and her surroundings. She discovered that she was stronger than she knew and that the lessons her mother had taught her were still there. A great read, I highly recommend it.

Still Alice - Lisa Genova

I wasn't sure I wanted to read this but yet, I was intrigued. I have always felt that Alzheimer's was such a hard disease to deal with and that it was harder on the caregivers than the person who had it. This changed my perspective. While I still feel the caregivers are the ones who suffer most, the person affected must deal with many emotions, fear and loss being major ones. The book is written from the view of the lady who finds herself diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's. She is a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world renown expert in linguistics (from Amazon description). Seeing the progression from her point of view was extremely interesting but also depressing. I cried through half of the book but it ends on a calm note. 

Natchez Burning - Greg Iles

One of my favorite authors. My mother and I shared a love of his books and she would have so enjoyed this one. Penn Cage, a retired lawyer and successful author, is mayor of Natchez, his home town. He finds himself in the middle of a situation involving his father, who is a beloved physician in town, that reaches back to the 1960's, during the Civil Rights marches and the voter registrations in Mississippi. He has to find the person who killed Dr. Cage's nurse because his father is accused of that murder. She had fled to Chicago after some terrible things happened in the 60's but came back home because she was dying of cancer. The book is not tiny, in fact, in paperback, it is 800+ pages but it wrapped me up and I couldn't put it down. It's the first in a series Mr Iles wrote after he had a a terrible traffic accident, losing his right leg below the knee. Another book I highly recommend.

Dust - Patricia Cornwell

A Kay Scarpetta book. I use to really enjoy Patricia Cornwell's books but it seemed to me that she fell down a rabbit hole in some of her later books. However, I can say this one was really good, kind of draggy in places but still good. Everything in the book , except for the last few pages, happen in a 24 hour period. I still have trouble with her style but it was easier to follow in this book. If you are a Patricia Cornwell fan, or a Kay Scarpetta one, you will enjoy this book.

All of the above books were borrowed from my local library through my Kindle except Time Bomb, Natchez Burning and Dust. I am really enjoying the ability to do this as I can get current books without having to pay anything. 

So, all caught up now. Think I'll stay that way??????

Update on Doug: First of all, I need to say a very big thank you for your comments on that post. He is doing very well. He has had some pain issues but I think that's under control now. He told me it hurts more than it did when he was 14! Well, son, you are almost 36 now. Things hurt more as you get older!

No promises! I'll be here when I can. I'm trying to stay caught up on your blogs but I'm behind on that also. But things are looking up and hopefully, I'll have more time on my hands to enjoy what I love to do.

Hugs
Sharon

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the comprehensive book reviews! Death's Acre sounds very interesting indeed.

    Now to go back and read the post(s) I've missed. I hope you're doing well and enjoying your summer. :)

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  2. I'm glad to hear from you. No need to apologize for missing some time here. We all have lives and in my mind reading is a wonderful reason to be absent. I adore books.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  3. Wild was one of my favorite reads last year too! I'm still waiting for the movie to come on my On Demand because I hear it's very faithful to the book.

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  4. It is always good to hear from/about you! What is better than having one's nose in a book? I can't think of anything I'd rather do than read...especially housework.
    I am so happy to hear that Doug is doing so well..hope the pain eases up and goes away quickly.
    Love to you, dear Sharon.
    xoxo, Ellen.

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  5. Great reviews. I always love reading your thoughts on books. I don't think that I'd be going for the one in the body Farm though. A bit gruesome for me even though I used to also enjoy the odd Kay Scarpetta books. I'd have to agree with you about the author losing her way half way through the series. I have up reading them quite a while ago. Shame because they were very good initially. Will definitely be trying some of the others though. Thanks for the reviews.
    Rosie

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  6. Blogging should be something you do when you feel like it or have something you want to natter about - you should never feel obliged or pressured to blog - xx

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  7. I always feel like I am behind, but then have to remind myself that I don't really have to or need to do all the things I think I could or should be doing. :) Thanks for stopping by. Tammy

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