Kicking the Habit is Just Cute Fun!

Kicking the Habit by Kari Lee Townsend
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This Goodreads giveaway arrived yesterday afternoon and I finished it this morning. A fun romp of a mystery with an adorable ex-nunny bunny as the heroine and a hunky small town detective as her serious foil. Having gone into the confessional to retrieve Father Flanagan's Bible for him, newly ex-Sister Mary Cecelia ( she just told the priest she was leaving the convent before taking her final vows ) is surprised when a man enters the other side of the booth and, before she can make him aware that she is not the priest, blurts out that he has been betrayed and that he didn't know he was involved in an illegal activity. Once he realizes his mistake, he runs from the Church only to be shot between the eyes and falls quite dead on the front steps with the good ex-nun hot on his heels.

Soon, Ace Jackson, the aforementioned hunk arrives and it is clear that the dead man, a Senator and prominent resident of New Hope, Ma, has been killed by an expert sniper. The FBI takes over the case and assigns Ace to protect CeCe as she prefers to be called--he is nun-sitting. But this petite amateur detective has no intention of revealing the Senator's " confession " nor does she intend to be prevented from investigating this murder on her own.

From that moment on the Church steps til the last page, the investigation proceeds with twists and turns and surprising revelations about the Senator and other denizens of New Hope. Suspects are provided and discarded throughout but not without discovering some interesting stories about each of them in turn.

Although this takes place in Ma it is interesting to see the writer's mind must have wandered on p.144 because for one brief moment it is Fall in Connecticut! Confused me for a second but then I got back on track. Especially since at that very moment Cece found herself in probably the most serious danger to date.

Enjoy--this is a fun read on a gray wintery December day in Vermont --or anywhere for that matter!

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Would She Stay if He Regained His Weight? A Good Question!

Vegas to Varanasi by Shelly Hickman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was a first reads giveaway that came in the mail two days ago, so, since I finished it so quickly it is obviously an easy read. Basically, it is the story of a single mother of two twenty something kids, a boy and a girl, whose father was her high school sweetheart who turned out to be gay. They are divorced but still socialize--he and his partner, Richard and she, with her partner, David. David, a charming man with whom she has lived for several years, develops a serious alcohol problem and becomes quite neglectful of Anna and her kids as he strives to write the new American best seller. Once he has finished it and it has been submitted to a publisher, he ends his live-in relationship with Anna but wants to remain friends, particularly with her children.

In the meantime, Anna through one of her physical therapy patients, reconnects with another high school classmate, Kirin, who was apparently quite overweight and insecure back then. He remembers Anna as one of the few students who paid any attention to him, even stood up for him, back then. She doesn't really remember him at all but now she is overwhelmed by this man, who is, according to the book, now a modern day Indian Adonis. They start dating, eventually he asks her to join him on a trip to Varanasi to visit his dying Grandmother. She goes, they return and basically the first part of the book is repeated with a few new scenarios. But, all the problems are resolved and all is right with the kids, Anna and Kirin and even David and his new squeeze who turns out to be Kirin's ex-fiancé.

Up to and including the trip to India I really enjoyed the book. Kirin has been hurt and jilted by women when fat, obese even, but he seems more secure as a newly thin person than Anna does, with her constant preoccupation with his beauty. Okay, as her friend Judith tells her, how could she not notice his looks but come on--get over it! Obviously, some one this gorgeous is going to be noticed and once in awhile the woman involved with him, no matter how long, will notice in some fleeting moment that beauty once more---BUT, eventually, it is not consciously noted. What else, besides sexual performance does this man have to offer? And why is Anna so insecure that even after a long relationship she still needs to keep her home in case this beauty decides she isn't worth his time after all?

The best part of the book so far as description of scene and development of character takes place in India. Once Anna and Kirin return things go nowhere back home. The author does make clear that the two of them aren't sure their new found intimacy and attraction will last once they return to the reality of home and family and that is a legitimate concern. The second part of the book made me impatient and irritated with them all. No one gets impatient, angry, irritated. Everyone is kind and caring and there for everyone else in a way that I just could not believe. Anna, in particular, drove me nuts with her patience with David. Close the door already--but then it is because Anna is just so caring and sweet that ex-husband Luke, old lover, David and new lover, Kirin just put up with her.

Finally, after all this repetition, the author ends the book with one chapter that starts 9 months after the end of the last chapter and culminates with at least four adults changing the diaper of a very poopy newborn. Sort of a let down to say the least. So all in all, though easily read, the book is just okay.

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Found This Book Just Too Boring to Finish

King of Cuba by Cristina Garcia
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Could not finish this book; only got to page 88. I, too, grew up in NYC but did not have much contact with Cuban emigres there. Fidel's sister, I think it was, had attended my College a couple of years before me but was invited to leave because of her political activism. I remember Fidel and his party trashing a hotel room in which they had live chickens and I remember the new Cuban arrivals in Miami and the turmoil the local people felt at first with them. So, I was a bit curious about a novel involving a man, a few years older than myself, who had probably come to Florida during those years and his fixation with wanting to destroy the tyrant and return to his homeland before dying.

Unfortunately, I think my lack of real life knowledge of the people, their culture and their language made the book tedious for me to read. I found no humor in the sexual exploits of a man with one foot in the grave--indeed the exploits of two such men. Nor the strange dreams they both have when, as a result of their advanced ages, they are unable to stay awake. Probably, since the author is a multiple literary award winner, others would thoroughly enjoy this book. It is the subject matter and my lack of interest in it, which has resulted in my rating and review.

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Sometimes the Title Says It All!

Crimes of Memory by L.J. Sellers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although the back cover said Detective Jackson discovers a shocking link between the murder of a homeless ex-con and the bombing of a water bottling plant by an environmental group, this link is not revealed to the reader until the last fifteen pages or so. As a result the book consists of parallel investigations--one led by Jackson, with very little progress, the other led by the sex-changed FBI agent, Carla River. While the stories were interesting and worth reading, there were several themes which contributed nothing to the cases: Jackson's impotence with his girlfriend, whom neither he nor the reader encountered very much; River's sexual arousal by the handy man she's hired to refurbish her house; the revelation that the FBI undercover agent, Dallas, enjoys sex with strangers but not with men she cares about--none of whom we ever meet, stranger or beloved.

Needless to say, with these clues, it was not hard to realize that somehow the crimes, if connected at all, would be connected through some sexual event. Perhaps I should have paid closer attention to the title of the book, which was a first reads giveaway.

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Icelandic Mystery!

Black Skies: An Inspector Erlendur Novel by Arnaldur Indriðason
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first books I read by a Scandinavian author were the Steig Larson trilogy. This led me to see the Scandinavian movie versions, on to the Masterpiece Wallendar series, then to the original European series which carried me to several other Scandinavian TV crime series complete with subtitles. I have since become a fan of the genre and this book, which I won in a Goodreads giveaway, in no way disappointed.

The action is subdued in tone--there are several deaths but the actual details of the attacks are minimal. While one of the deaths is believed to have resulted from a blackmail attempt on a rising politico and her husband by the couple who arranged wife swapping parties which they attended, there is no gratuitous sex scenes. There are actually three different crimes being investigated, four if you count the pilfering of an old lady's newspaper from her mailbox, but they seem to be totally unconnected.

The main character is Sigurdur Oli, a member of the Icelandic police force, whose lengthy live-in relationship has ended although, oblivious as he is to his lack of warmth and affection for others, he is hoping to resuscitate. He doesn't see how he or his mother contributed to the break-up and seems only mildly disturbed by his girlfriend's new relationship. This coldness and distance makes him a good investigator and the reader is carried along through the permutations that lead to the solving of mysteries with a really surprising ending.

The lack of crazy car chases, bullets flying, impossibly acrobatic sex scenes, and blood and gore produced a very satisfying cerebral crime story that seemed to be more realistic than most others. I only wish that Sigurdur Oli had a shorter name, although one would never think of him as Siggi. Looking forward to checking out a few more in this series.

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Mid-October Part IV

Nov 5, 2013 Office in Nashville Townhouse 12:25 pm CST After having spent a long, hot day at the Hermitage the next week or so was spent on more mundane pursuits such as shopping, eating out, doing housework and reading. We also made a dash up to Bowling Green, Ky to our favorite BBQ place, the Smoky Pig and, of course, made the trek to Grinder's Switch to attend the Radio Hour, have lunch at Breece's Café and return by way of the Trace. Attempted once more to stop at the Loveless but it is always crowded and we just aren't the type to wait on line for much of anything. If ever you have occasion to eat at Breece's do NOT get a hot sandwich. The gravy is gelatinous and tastes like the flour used to thicken it--just awful. I lifted the top bread and ate the tasteless boiled beef inside with lots of salt and pepper. The chocolate silk pecan pie, on the other hand, is delicious! The week-end of October Oct 19 and 20 was a busy one. We had had rain it seems every other day and the temps were like a roller coaster. Oct 19 started out chilly and rain was predicted but we headed over to Long Hunter State Park anyway to attend the Tennessee PowWow. There is a wide open circular area surrounded by trees. In front of the tree line all the way around the circle were vendors of all sorts of Native American crafts. Much pottery, of course, as well as beaded jewelry. I saw a squash blossom necklace for $975 which I would have bought had I not already gotten one in New Mexico several years back. This was reversible--turquoise on one side and coral on the other. Just stunning. As we wandered around I there were speakers and musicians in the center of the circle entertaining the crowd. I heard a very pleasant male voice followed by beautiful violin music--as we wandered we came to a vendor of Arvel Bird CD's and I bought one. Another vendor from Rochester, Mn had lovely signed posters of various birds and animals. It was so hard to choose but I seem to always have a crow that greets me or finds me and stays around cawing at me. So, I've sort of taken the crow as my special wild bird and, though the Raven poster tempted me, I settled on the crow. Another corner was taken up by the Tennessee chapter of the Trail of Tears Society. I have been reading It's My Trail, Too off and on for several months now. It is a sort of journal of a man trying to walk the original trail since he has some Native blood and his family settled in Oklahoma after the relocation, as it is so inaptly called. It certainly was a relocation but not by any means voluntary. Oh, semantics. At any rate, I got talking to one of the gentlemen and he talked about the various actual trails that were used to cross Tennessee and the fact that part of one of them was to be marked and opened officially in Lawrenceburg in early November. He also gave me two of the National Park brochures relating to the Trail. By this time, we were chilled to the bone and starving so we purchased a smoked sausage and coffee to eat before finding a seat in the bleachers around the circle since the drumming and dancing competitions were about to begin. I had not yet realized that I could video with my camera and that sound would be recorded as well. Just as well or I'd have hours of singing and drumming--may I tell you--veins stuck out on the foreheads and throats of these chanting men. Unbelieveably strong and melodious voices and the drumming was so vigorous. How these fellows were able to keep it up for the six hours we were there and then the next day was amazing. The prizes for the various aspects of their performances were probably a major incentive. http://www.naiatn.org/powwow/drum-singing-contest.html Not to be outdone by audible talent, there was dancing competition also. It would be best for you to go to this page if interested in the various categories in both men, women, boys and girls competitions. Let me just say that, despite one little stretch of drizzle and really cold fall temperatures--more like home than Tennessee--, I insisted on staying for them all and it was beautiful. The costumes, the intricacy of steps, the headdresses and the elegance of some of the dancers was truly dazzling. What was even more dazzling was that the whole day with my two purchases, admission and lunch was under $50 ( $43,to be exact ) for the two of us. Non-stop professional quality entertainment with a crowd that had ample room with no poor seats--where does one get that these days? The next day was sunnier and warmer so we went around the corner--almost literally, it is so close--to the Tennessee Agricultural Center for the Music and Molasses Festival. I'm not sure we stayed an hour--one group sang " Will The Circle Be Unbroken" which ranks right up there with "Danny Boy" on my list of all-time least favorite songs. Then, they either didn't know anything else or felt an audience of about ten was too small, they picked up their instruments and trudged off somewhere--???. The vendors had nothing that wowed me and that is mostly what was there--vendors. The annual Crafts Festival at Sunapee in August is much better--bigger and better products. Did not see any molasses or any making of sorghum though we did see the horse walking round and round and there-by grinding up what looked like cane--though where that came from who knows. A few ladies in costume were using various looms and wheels to weave stuff for which the prices were ridiculous. There was someone half heartedly stirring stuff to make soap which sold for $4.50 a bar. Nice display of tractors and an interesting museum though most of the stuff I've seen in other Ag museums--Bill seemed to enjoy it so that was good. But after going to the Big E for quite a few years this seemed really mickey mouse. AND Corn dogs and other Cornbread covered mystery meat did not appeal. So it was back home to watch the Titans lose once more and order Pizza Hut in. It was a bit of a disappointing day--thought being Nashville it would be bigger somehow--but again, we had a nice stroll in the country, in the sunshine and it cost $10. Finished the day by ordering tickets for a cruise on Oct 25 on the Cumberland and tickets for the Bruce Monroe Light exhibit at Cheekwood on Oct 30. Will tell you all about it on the next installment. Enjoy the colorful pictures from this latest blog. Until next time, take care, KandB

If You Are Irish You'll Love This Book--You'll Love It Even If You're Not!

Fingal O'Reilly, Irish Doctor: An Irish Country Novel by Patrick Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Being on vacation it has taken longer to read this book than would be the case had I not been gallivanting and just fitting it in during quiet moments. What an interesting approach to a story and one that works beautifully. Patrick Taylor, himself a doctor, indeed an Irish doctor transplanted to Canada, has told Fingal's story in chapters that alternate between the '30's in Dublin's tenements to the '60's ( which serves as the present ) in a small country village.

In the tenements the newly minted medical man is young, single, idealistic, enthusiastic--all the things we all are as we embark on our life's journey. Bright eyed and energetic with his mother's heart and love for those less fortunate, Fingal becomes a beloved member of the dirty, impoverished, disease-ridden area in which the irascible Dr Corrigan runs the dispensary in which the young doctor is given his first job. He even, over time acquires a nickname, Dr Big Felleh, and the the affection and admiration of the unmarried, childless mentor with whom he works.

The alternating chapters find a man thirty years older, recently married to what appears to have been an old girl friend, the one who got away, so to speak. He is still enthusiastic and caring but there is a maturity about him though no lack of caring about his patients and certainly the same belonging to his community of Balleybucklebo. His patients are less impoverished though not all are what one would call affluent. The respect and admiration, even affection, of his community is evident and obviously returned. It is he who runs a dispensary now and instead of a shared flat with a fellow medical man he owns a pleasant home in which he employs a delightful cook and maid, the wonderful Kinky, so. His assistant, a young man who cannot decide whether he wants to remain in General Medicine or specialize, has taken a leave to explore his options and Fingal has employed a young woman doctor, Jenny, to fill in.

The interwoven stories lead one easily from Dublin to Balleybucklebo. We learn how Kitty got away and how, eventually, she becomes his wife some 30 years later. There are changes in medicine during these thirty years, also. Antibiotics were not around during his early years of practice and as a modern reader sees people suffer with infection and death or near death situations it is impossible not to feel the helplessness Fingal experiences and his joy when he is able to turn around a case. As a woman the advancements made in female medicine is nothing short of miraculous and with Jenny I'm happy to have borne my child, at 43, in these days rather than when my Mom at 18 in 1919 lost a full term breech birth child. A delivery accident in which her baby's medulla was pierced in an effort to turn her around resulted in the infant's death within days.

It would seem that this book is the eighth in a series and that a ninth, according to Kinky, is in the works. Most of the time I'd be sorry not to have read the earlier installments but for some reason I'm glad this is the one with which I've started. When I read the others I will see Fingal in his early years and go with him down his path but unlike him I will know what the future holds--at least where he will be and with whom in the '60's. Don't we all wish we knew, sometimes,what the future holds? Kinky says the next book will even tell about Fingal's first marriage--since both he and Kitty did take different routes out of Dublin in the '30's. Can't wait--but, Dr Taylor, take your time--I have a little catching up to do!

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