What I’ve been Reading…

 

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a wonderful Christmas season with my family. For some reason, I looked forward to Christmas this year more than I have in the past. I’m not sure why, maybe because I started shopping early and this season was less stressful. Or it could be because we were all healthy this Christmas and I was thankful for that.

 

Photo by mclcbooks on Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-ND

Anyway, whatever the reason, I had a great Christmas and I hope you did, too.

This is my last blog post of 2017. It’s kind of anti-climactic because I don’t have the “I’ve figured out the meaning of life” post I thought I’d have at this juncture in the game, and I haven’t figured out my New Year’s resolutions yet or my One Little Word for 2018. So as I struggle for something to write, I fall back on one of my favorite hobbies and that is reading. I’ve finished a couple of excellent stories I haven’t shared with you yet so I thought this might be a good time to discuss them. One was recommended to me and the other one is one of my favorite authors. Both books were excellent. So without further ado, here they are.

 

THE CITY OF THIEVES:

 

 

From the critically acclaimed author of The 25th Hour and When the Nines Roll Over and co-creator of the HBO series Game of Thrones, a captivating novel about war, courage, survival — and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.

During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.

By turns insightful and funny, thrilling and terrifying, the New York Times bestseller City of Thieves is a gripping, cinematic World War II adventure and an intimate coming-of-age story with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men.

 

My Thoughts:

 

I love a good World War II story, especially the ones where good triumphs over evil. In this story, two unlikely men become friends in occupied Russia during the Nazi invasion when they are captured by the Nazis. Instead, of death, they are tasked with finding eggs for the Commander’s daughter’s wedding cake in a time when eggs are nowhere to be found. The two characters take us on their journey where we run into some dangerous characters and some heroic ones.  I absolutely loved the ending. It’s one of hope and shows that even in the most horrible of circumstances love triumphs over all.

 

LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE

 

 

 

The runaway New York Times bestseller

Named a Best Book of the Year:
People, The Washington Post, Bustle, Esquire, Southern Living, The Daily Beast, GQ, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Kirkus Reviews, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Book of the Month, Paste, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Audible, Goodreads, Library Reads, and many more!

“I am loving Little Fires Everywhere. Maybe my favorite novel I’ve read this year.”—John Green

“I read Little Fires Everywhere in a single, breathless sitting.” –Jodi Picoult

“Witty, wise, and tender. It’s a marvel.” – Paula Hawkins

“To say I love this book is an understatement. It’s a deep psychological mystery about the power of motherhood, the intensity of teenage love, and the danger of perfection. It moved me to tears.” – Reese Witherspoon

From the bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You, a riveting novel that traces the intertwined fates of the picture-perfect Richardson family and the enigmatic mother and daughter who upend their lives.

In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenaged daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. Soon Mia and Pearl become more than tenants: all four Richardson children are drawn to the mother-daughter pair. But Mia carries with her a mysterious past and a disregard for the status quo that threatens to upend this carefully ordered community.

When old family friends of the Richardsons attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town–and puts Mia and Elena on opposing sides.  Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Elena is determined to uncover the secrets in Mia’s past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs.

Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood – and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.

 

My Thoughts:

 

Celeste Ng has become one of my favorite authors. I fell in love with her first book “Everything I Never Told You” and her second book is right up there with her first one.

“Little Fires Everywhere” is the story of the Richardson family and the quiet life of Shaker Heights and how one addition to this little town can turn everything upside down. The addition I’m talking about is Mia and Pearl. Mia is a photographer who’s been moving from town to town for quite some time, but she wants to stop and put down some roots for her daughter Pearl.

They rent a home from the Richardson’s and the Richardson children befriend Pearl and soon Mia begins working for the family to help pay the rent. Their lives become intertwined and fires start. It’s a great story of family dynamics and explores issues of adoption, abortion, and parenting. If you like human drama stories you’ll love this one.

 

So there you have it, my last post of 2017.  If you’re snowed in, these two books are a must read…even if you’re not snowed it. They’re great stories. Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. I’m putting together a reading list for 2018 do you have any recommendations for me? Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

 

Merry Christmas

 

 

Merry Christmas to all of my readers and followers. I love and appreciate all of you. I’m taking this weekend to prepare for the holidays and spend time with my family and friends.

I hope all of you make wonderful memories.

I will be back next week.

Hugs. 🙂

 

Should Humans Hibernate?

 

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a busy week of Christmas shopping, Christmas concerts, writing, and working. It feels good to sit down and catch my breath. I love the Christmas season, but it does wear me out.

Photo by Hindrik S on Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-SA

One day while I was standing in one of the many lines waiting to check out, my mind began to wander and this question floated to the surface of my brain: Are humans supposed to hibernate?

As I slowly moved forward, the wheels in my brain started to turn. I don’t know about you but when winter hits, it’s harder for me to get up in the morning and I want to go to bed earlier at night.

Photo on Visual hunt

This increased need for sleep has me thinking that us humans may be fighting our natural instinct to hibernate in the winter like so many animals do. Not only animals but plants, too. Many of them become dormant in the winter and start growing again in the spring.

It makes me wonder if the world would be a better place if we all just slowed down and took a long winter’s nap. Maybe that’s the natural order of things, and we’re going against the grain. That’s why everyone’s so grumpy. It’s possible, don’t you think?

Photo on VisualHunt.com

 A winter’s nap would cure many things. For example, road rage. If we hibernate in the winter everyone would be getting enough sleep. People would be less likely to fly off the handle when they’re on the road.

It would be the cure for Seasonal Affective Disorder. This disorder is a form of depression that’s triggered by the changing seasons. Mainly winter. Maybe we’re getting depressed because we’re supposed to be sleeping during this time instead of slogging around in the slush and snow.

I wonder how it would affect our economy if we were to sleep during the long winter months. I know my first thought is it would hurt us. It makes sense if we weren’t producing we wouldn’t have any product to sell, but on closer inspection I think it would actually help us.

Photo on Visual hunt

Why? Because we’d have to work with our competitors. After all, every continent experiences winter at a different time. While one is sleeping the other could be going into high production mode and produce goods and services for the one continent that’s in hibernation mode.

We’d have to communicate and rely on our fellow earth dwellers. We’d have to cooperate, eliminating competition. Global cooperation. Now that’s a goal worth striving for, don’t you think?

Photo on Visual Hunt

I know what you’re thinking, what about those countries that don’t have winter? It’s true some don’t have quite as dramatic changes in season as others, but they all experience times when days are shorter than others. So, they are affected as well, just not to the same degree as other continents. So, it could still work.

 

Hibernation. Maybe those wild woodland animals are on to something. Could it really be that simple?

 

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. What do you think? Could hibernation be the answer to our global unrest? Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

 

Blogcation

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you! I’m taking a blogcation today because I’m selling my books at our local craft show. The craft show is a fund raiser for the school district libraries so I’ll be back next week! Have a great weekend!

 

It’s A Facebook Holiday Hop From Eskape Press!

 

 

 

Want to win a KINDLE or an AMAZON GIFT CARD?  Here’s how you can do it!

All you need to do is visit and comment at each of eight Eskape Press author pages. There’s a question you need to answer at each page. It’s Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

Here’s my link: Lisa’s Facebook page

 

 

Don’t Judge Me

 

Hello everyone. I hope all is well with you. I’ve reached the 50,000 word mark on my latest manuscript. I reached it on the thirtieth of November so if I were competing in Nano, I would’ve reached my goal. I was hoping to be finished with the story by this time, but alas, it is not meant to be. It’s not done, but I’m a lot closer than I was. I’m guessing between twenty and thirty thousand more words will do the trick. Fingers crossed. 🙂

Photo on VisualHunt

But enough about that. I’m back today to talk about something I feel is important for all of us of the female persuasion and that is supporting each other. My new motto for 2018 is going to be “Don’t Judge Me.” I think we’ll get much further ahead if we stop judging each other. Instead, we should embrace our differences and support each other.

I see this support in the writing community and it amazes me. I come from a male dominated field where things were extremely competitive. So when I did come across another woman, she tended to be territorial and back-stabby. I’m sure you all know this type. So when I started writing and found other supportive women, it was truly a gift and something I had to get used to.

Photo by erlin1 on Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-ND

Why haven’t we does this in the past? I believe it’s because we have grown up with the idea that there isn’t enough to go around. Enough money. Enough self-respect. Enough self-worth.  Enough love.  We don’t believe our needs will get met so we search outside ourselves to find someone who’ll meet our needs, when what we really need to do is search within ourselves, and figure out what makes us whole.

For me, it’s my writing. I could do this all day, every day, so in times of great stress that’s what I do to ease my angst. It’s different for everyone. Some people paint, some exercise, and some work. Whatever it is, find your passion. It will calm the inner storm and you’ll feel self-reliant.

Sorry, I digress. We were talking about women bonding together. Wait. I did have a reason for bringing the passion thing up. Here’s my point. We need to support each other in the pursuit of our passions. We need to bond together, not judge each other when we walk a different path, because we all have our own path and our own lessons to learn, wouldn’t you agree?

Photo on Visualhunt.com

So let’s do that. Stop judging. Be more accepting of our differences. We are all unique snowflakes, and we all deserve to be appreciated and respected. Am I right, or am I right?

What are you passionate about? How do you feel about women being supportive of each other? Leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!