December 23, 2020 HERE COMES THE JUDGE

 LITERALLY SHAKING MY HEAD. Can't believe people post SO MANY SPELLING ERRORS on
social media.  I understand that SPELL CHECK is convenient BUT FOR GOD'S SAKE-- USE A DICTIONARY. Save yourself the embarrassment. FYI--YOU ARE BEING JUDGED BY WHAT YOU POST ONLINE. 

 Here are a few highlights from Face Book:

• 
  Santa Claus almost got caught RAPING presents                             
• I'm gonna kick YOUR'RE ass
• I'd rather be pissed off, THEN pissed on
• So excited! I was excepted into my 1st choice collage
• Is it just me or does nobody have MANORS these days
• No OFFENCE but change ur profile  pic.....LOOSE some WAIT n you will look good
• If YOUR going to GRAMER-NAZI someone, make sure YOUR UN-GRAMER-NAZI-ABLE

Hey, I'm not saying I'm perfect BUT at least I make an effort. I even check the dictionary so that I don't look like an IDIOT. Next week-- I'll take a look at punctuation errors on social media. That should be a hoot!! In the meantime, I'll tell you about the 2013 National Book Award winning book The Good Lord Bird by James McBride.

Henry Shackleford is a twelve year old slave who lives in  Kansas territory in 1856, an area that is a battleground for anti/pro slave forces. One day Abolitionist John Brown comes into town and causes quite a stir. By the end of the day, Brown has killed Henry's master and Henry (mistaken as a girl by Brown) is forced to join the abolitionist movement. Brown later nicknames Henry--Little Onion-- and he continues the charade in order to stay safely away from gun fights.  Little Onion stays with Brown and his raiders through many adventures and eventually ends up at Harper's Ferry in 1859--where Brown leads a slave revolt that goes horribly wrong. This highly entertaining novel is a mixture of history and imagination about one of the most tumultuous times in American history. It is written in language and dialect of the time period that might take some getting used to but it's well worth your effort. The characters in the story are interesting and many of their antics are laugh-out-loud funny. This 480 page book or 6 mile run was recently made into a miniseries and can be seen on SHOWTIME but read the book first!! Enjoy. 

December 18, 2020 WINTER WONDERLAND

First snow fall of the season. It's always kind of exciting--until the shoveling starts. Shoveling is hard work. I don't shovel much anymore--but I spent many years shoveling our REALLY WIDE-LONG driveway. And then the plow would go by and BOX ME IN AGAIN. So frustrating. We also have to shovel part of our roof. Sounds weird I know. But a section of our roof is flat-- and if we don't shovel it--we tend to get leaks when it melts. It's a ridiculous problem. Who would ever build a house in New England with a flat roof??? Search me. Who would live in their house 27  years and do nothing about it?? Maybe that's the more important question??? Every year it's the same thing---then we conveniently forget about it until the next year...........Hell......remember...I still DON'T have air conditioning. Yup--And I conveniently forget about that when it's time to shovel the roof  again. UGH. YOU CAN'T MAKE IT UP. Just finished the perfect book to read during a snowstorm, Ruth Ware's brand new thriller One by One. 

In this suspense filled novel, the cofounders of  SNOOP organize a corporate retreat for their employees at a lovely Chalet in the French Alps. Danny is the chef at the chalet while Erin is the housekeeper/jack of all trades. When the group arrives,  it's clear that the employees aren't getting along. Things only get worse when Eva, one of the owners, announces plans for a major buy out. When a snowstorm begins, the group decides to forgo work in order to ski before the weather gets worse. By the end of the day, Eva is missing and an avalanche has left the  rest of the group cut off from the outside world. As the  hours tick by, theories become accusations and one by one members of the group start to die. This is a good who-done-it that is obviously paying homage to Agatha Christie. Interestingly enough, Ruth Ware is now being touted as the Agatha Christie of our generation, a title well earned. If you like a good mystery, with many twists and turns then this is the book for you. It's about 380 pages or a 3.5 mile run that will keep you guessing until the end. 

December 13, 2020 EVERYBODY WEAR THEY MASK

 What the HELL is wrong with people?? What's the deal with these ANTI-MASKERS? Why can't they just SUCK IT UP  FOR THE COMMON GOOD. Yes, we live in a free country BUT that's not the point. HELLO--ALMOST 300,000 PEOPLE HAVE DIED OF COVID IN THE  UNITED STATES AND 1.6 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE DIED WORLDWIDE. No one wants to close businesses and ruin the economy BUT sometimes we all have to MAKE SACRIFICES. STOP BEING SO SELFISH.  Calling it  tyranny is SO RIDICULOUS. I think all the ANTI-MASKERS should buy an island and GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE. They can  name it TRUMPVILLE.  And Trump will be available VERY soon to be your GLORIOUS DICTATOR. HECK --why don't you  get Sarah Palin to be his assistant--she's got nothing else to do.   And when you get COVID on your new island--that has NO hospital--because you don't believe in COVID and what to be FREE--I hope you have a slow painful recovery/death. PLEASE GO--I'M BEGGING YOU TO LEAVE------you are the reason we are in this mess in the first place. Sorry for the rant but I can't handle the stupidity of people in this world anymore. UGH. See why I have to escape into books.

If you enjoyed Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi then you will definitely enjoy her new book Transcendent Kingdom. As the story unfolds, Gifty is a PhD student in neuroscience at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is determined to come up with a scientific understanding for addiction and depression so that she can better understand the suffering in her own family. Her family originally immigrated to Alabama from Ghana before she was born. Her parents were hard workers who lived and breathed the Evangelical church--a place that highly influenced Gifty's thinking and life. After her brother Nana died of a herion overdose in high school, 10 year old Gifty's world collapsed. Her father left the family and her mother struggled with depression that threatened their livelihood . This novel is ultimately about faith, science, racism and the immigrant experience. It's well written, interesting and insightful. At 290 pages, it's about a 3.5 mile run that you will long remember. Enjoy. 

December 6, 2020 HELL FREEZES OVER

 Baby, It was cold out there this morning. Seriously. Froze my butt off!  It was the wind. It was only 32 degrees  with a NW wind of about 12.  Felt like I was in Dante's 2nd circle of Hell usually set aside for  LUSTFUL PEOPLE. Those poor,  unfortunate souls would be blown about violently by gale force winds chasing whomever they lusted for on Earth FOREVER. No rest for the Lustful I guess. No rest for runners today either. Dante had quite a sense of humor--especially in naming his greatest work--The Divine Comedy. Speaking of comedy--hope you got to watch the SNL skit last night about Giuliani and his witnesses to voter fraud. It was very funny. SNL is the best. You can always count on them for a little chuckle AND we could all use a good laugh right now. Times are REALLY hard. Thinking it's  gonna be like this all winter.  If only people had worn a MASK when it mattered. UGH.  Hoping and a  praying I'll make it through this long, gray, cold winter without a visit to the funny farm. Not even kidding. Winter is hard enough without COVID.  Oh Well--Back to the books.  

If you're looking for a light read--that's actually a good story than you should pick up Susan Wiggs' book The Lost and Found Bookshop. After the sudden death of her mother, Natalie Harper inherits her failing bookshop in San Francisco. In addition to inheriting the bookshop, Natalie must also take care of her ailing grandfather, Andrew. Although Natalie wants to sell the bookshop, her grandfather has other plans. His family has owned the building that houses the bookshop for more than a century and he has no plans to sell as he's convinced there is some sort of treasure hidden in the building--which has a history of it's own. So Natalie quits her job and moves back to the building of her youth to run the bookshop and take care of her grandfather and in the process gets more than she bargained for especially after she hires a contractor with a young daughter to renovate the building. Find out how Natalie's life changes after returning home and if there really is a treasure in the building when you read this book for yourself. It's about 350 pages or a 3 mile run that you will really enjoy. 

November 25, 2020 THANKFUL

 Thanksgiving 2020. It's going to be weird. First time in 30 years that we won't be with the cousins. No Buffers--just my lovely family. Yup--it's gonna be weird.  It's all good though. I just keep reminding myself to be grateful. I have a lot to be thankful for.......

• My family                                                   
  
• Good health
• Employment
• Insurance
• Good Friends
• Laughter
• Sunshine
• Running
• Reading
• Yoga
• Art
• Wisdom
• My dogs
• Happy hour
• Biden
• Students
• My life

If you're feeling out of sorts this holiday season--stop--make a gratitude list and things will turn around. Another thing that always helps me get through tough times is a good book. I'm currently reading Kate Morton's best selling book The Secret Keeper. I love Kate Morton, she is a great writer who takes you to another place and time. She also really understands people and creates characters who are interesting and complex. As this novel unfolds, it's 1961 and  Laurel Nicolson, a sixteen year old girl living on the family farm,  witnesses a horrendous crime involving her mother that changes her life. The novel then jumps to 2011. It's 50 years later, and the Nicolson family is gathering at the family farm to celebrate their mother's 90th birthday. Laurel realizes that time is running out if she ever wants to find out what really happened in 1961.  Laurel starts to question her mother, Dorothy, who is not in good health, and realizes that her mother is haunted by a past that Laurel knows nothing about. The novel then shifts to 1940 during World War II, when Dorothy (Dolly) lived in France and had a boyfriend named Jimmy and a "friend" named Vivien. The novel jumps between Dolly's perspective of the past and Vivien's which  really adds another layer of mystery to the story. What happened during the war that caused Dorothy to commit a crime in 1961?   I still don't know. I have 92 pages left.  I'm dying to finish the book on one hand, and don't want it to end on the other. It's always a dilemma for me. I heard that there's a real twist at the end of the story......this book is about 495 pages or a 5 mile run that will keep you guessing til the bitter end. Happy Thanksgiving. Gobble Gobble. 

November 22, 2020 GOOD LOOKIN' MAN

 It's been a tough couple of weeks. First--Sean Connery AND  then Alex Trebek. A double whammy. How I LOVED Sean Connery--when he was James Bond. I could watch him all day--he was THAT good looking-Suave-Debonair--did I mention EXTREMELY HANDSOME too.  He was the whole package--James Bond---Hell--I would have given my left arm to be a BOND GIRL. My WEAKNESS for good looking men--It's sort of a curse--so I have to be careful. Enough Said. Alex Trebek. He was also a handsome man but my attraction to him was completely different. I started watching Jeopardy with my grandmother WAY BACK WHEN and still watch it at 7:00pm most nights. Trebek was like an old friend--a link to my grandmother and childhood. It was always comforting to sit with a cocktail and spend 30 minutes with Trebek. It doesn't seem real yet as the show is taped through Christmas but when they get a new host it's really going to hit home. I'm hoping they replace him with Ken Jennings--that I could handle. He seems like a good choice to carry the torch into the next generation. 

 It's been 65 years since Eva Traube Abrams has seen The Book of Lost Names, also the name of Kristin Harmel's new novel. As this lovely novel begins, Eva, an 86 year old librarian living in Florida, sees a photograph in the New York Times that sends her reeling. It's a picture of The Book of Lost Names, an 18th century religious text looted by the Germans during World War II. It's finally been recovered and researchers are trying to break the code contained in the book. Eva is torn because she knows that she is the only one left who can break the code, but doesn't know if she has the strength to go back to the past. The reader is then back in 1942. Eva and her mother are fleeing Paris after her father, a Polish Jew, is arrested by the French police. They travel to a free zone in Switzerland where Eva meets a priest working against the Germans. It's here that she realizes she has a talent for forgery and works alongside a handsome Catholic named Remy to forge documents for Jewish children to cross the border. Don't want to say too much more about this interesting historical fiction/love story other than I really enjoyed it and encourage you to read it. It's only about 390 pages or a 4 mile easy read that you won't be  able to put down. Enjoy. 

November 11, 2020 HOME ON THE RANGE

 

What's scarier than shingles and covid? Getting hit by a deer--THAT'S WHAT. So--I'm minding my own business driving to work the other day and from out of nowhere--a huge deer--while attempting  to cross route 32-- literally smashed into my car. It was awful. The poor deer. I was shocked when it got up and limped into the woods. What was equally shocking was that NOT ONE PERSON STOPPED. People drove around the deer and my car and just kept going on their merry way. When I finally recovered enough, I moved my car to the side of the road. I was literally SHAKEN AND STIRRED. I still can't believe NO ONE STOPPED.  But the poor deer. It's our fault really. These poor animals have NO WHERE ELSE TO GO. We have encroached on their land--how many dollars stores, malls and fast food restaurants do we need?? I'm fine and my car can be fixed but what about the deer? I love deer. They are one of the most beautiful, elegant animals I've ever seen. Hoping that the deer is in recovery mode and lives a good long time. While recovering from my latest escapade, I read a great mystery called Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger. In this crime drama, Nell Flynn is an FBI agent on medical leave who goes home to Long Island after her father, Martin, dies in a motorcycle accident. Martin, a Suffolk County detective, was investing the mysterious death of a 17 year old at the time of his death. After another girl ends up dead, Martin's partner, Lee Davis, asks Nell help solve the serial cases. While investing, Nell begins to question her own mother's mysterious death, especially,  when all leads make her own father look like the prime suspect. Find out who killed Nell's mother and who is responsible for the murders in Suffolk Country when you read this page turner for yourself. It's about 290 pages or a 3 mile run that will keep you guessing until the end.