67. Lean Mean Thirteen

By Janet Evanovich
Rated ★★★★


When Dickie Or, Stepahnie's Ex Husband disappears from his house leaving behind only bloodstains and bullet holes, Steffie becomes the prime suspect in his alleged murder. Determined to clear her name, she teams up with Ranger and Joe Morelli, manage uncover Dickie's ties to a shady group of men involved in everything from money laundering to drug running. And when Dickie's jilted business partners decide Stephanie holds the key to the $40 million they believe Dickie stole from them, she's in for a wild ride.

As mysteries go this is one of Evanovich's better ones but as far as I am concerned she did a pretty hit and miss job as far as the characters went. I admit that would have enjoyed it much more if I had been reading it instead of listening to it. Spoken some of the language is a lot more offensive than it is when I read it. Go figure that one!

Grandma Mazur and Lula were both way over the top. Again it may be spoken vs. written. But the interplay between Steffie, Ranger and Morelli was great this time. The person who read this did a great job on Steffie. Overall I gave this four stars as the mystery carried it past the offensive parts. And oh, of course Morelli and Ranger always rate an extra star.

66. Then Came Heaven

By LaVyrle Spencer
Rated ★★★★½

I say the dumbest things about myself sometimes. One of the dumb things I say is that I will not read books with a religious theme. That's obviously not true since some of my favorite books have religious themes. This is one of them.

This is the story of a young widower and the attraction between him and Sister Regina, a young nun who teaches his two daughters. This romance reveals the depth of their commitment to Catholicism, their budding love for one another and their struggles to create new lives for themselves.

It's also LaVerle Spencer's last book and that is a shame. The woman writes lovely romance novels.

A Walk in the Woods

By Bill Bryson
Rated: ★★★★★

Since I want to be a Travel Writer when I grow up this is my favorite non-fiction author. I love his style and witty sense of humor and pithy observations.

In A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson tackles what is, for him, an entirely new subject: the American wilderness. Accompanied only by his old college buddy Stephen Katz, Bryson starts out one March morning in north Georgia, intending to walk the entire 2,100 miles to trail's end atop Maine's Mount Katahdin. If nothing else, A Walk in the Woods is proof positive that the journey is the destination. As Bryson and Katz haul their out-of-shape, middle-aged butts over hill and dale, the reader is treated to both a very funny personal memoir and a delightful chronicle of the trail, the people who created it, and the places it passes through.

65. Walking Home

by Goldreich, Gloria
Rated ★★★★

This was an accidental reread for me. I didn't realize tht I had read it before until I was about ten pages into it. Still I enjoyed it just as much this time as I did the first. It's very well written.

Rochelle Weiss's life is turned upside down when she learns both of her parents are dying of cancer. When she requests a leave of absence from her job is denied and when she states that she is determined to take the time to care for them she finds herself fired.

When both of her parents die within hours of each other Rochelle finds herself alone and almost entirely without funds. She takes over a friends dog walking clients and uses the time to reevaluate her life, her values and what kind of future she wants.

64. Love You Soldier

By Amy Hest
Rated ★★

This book was really just a short story as it was only 47 pages long and was written for very young readers. While I often enjoy children's books just as much as any other child, this was not one of them.

The story of a young girl in New York whose father is killed in WWII just never came together for me. It could have been very touching had the author had her act together when she wrote it.

63. Flower Confidential

By Amy Stewart
Rated: ★★★★

I checked this book out from the library because I liked "From the Ground Up" by this author so much. While I didn't like it quite as much I did find it fascinating. I certainly learned a lot about the flower business. Here is a blurb from the book jacket.

"For over a century hybridizers, geneticists, farmers, and florists around the world have worked to invent, manufacture, and sell flowers that are bigger, brighter, and sturdier than anything nature could provide. Almost any flower, in any color, is for sale at any time of year." "Amy Stewart travels the globe to take us inside this dazzling world. She tracks down scientists intent on developing the first genetically modified blue rose; an eccentric horticultural legend who created the world's most popular lily (the 'Star Gazer'); a breeder of gerberas of every color imaginable; and an Ecuadorean farmer growing exquisite, high-end organic roses that are the floral equivalent of a Tiffany diamond. She sees firstHand how flowers are grown and harvested on farms in Latin America, California, and Holland. (It isn't always pretty.)"--BOOK JACKET.

62. From the Gound Up

By Amy Stewart
Rated: ★★★★

Since I'm one of those people who can happly get their complete gardening experience by browsing through seed catalogs and visiting the local farmer's market on Saturday mornings this was just the book for me. I get all the vicarious thrills I need by reading about someone else's hard work.

And in the same spirit of piggy backing on someone else's hard work I have copied this review from amazon.

"When the author and her husband bought their first home in California, she was eager to grow the bountiful, colorful garden she had so long envisioned. With much enthusiasm and little knowledge, she began her weekly trek to the local nursery to stock up on all varieties of seedlings. Why, she wondered, did they not flourish after being planted in the bare backyard? Only after many mistakes, much expense, and worrisome encounters with weeds and bugs was she able to transform her little plot into "a garden with soul," jumbled and luxuriant. Along with a witty description of her mistakes, the author shares her solutions. She gives other beginning gardeners tips on making earthworm manure, improving the soil by sheet composting, encouraging beneficial insects, and sharing excess produce with neighbors.
"

61. Dreaming Suburbs

By R. L. Delderfield

Rated:★★★★★

Set in the period between 1919 and 1940 this is Volume 1 of "The Avenue" an old favorite and another step along the path of my Great Reread Adventure.

The story which follows the residents of a middle-class suburban road begins shortly after the end of World War I with the return of one resident, who finds that his wife has died in the Spanish Flue epidemic and left him with several children to care for and ends shortly after Dunkirk.

60. Plain and Simple

By Sue Bender
Rated: ★★★

A had problems deciding what rating to give this book. I hovered between a two star and a three star and finally decided to be generous and give it a three. It's a very fast read and while it was nicely written I felt like this was one of those "all about me" books instead of giving the reader any real insight into the alleged purpose of the book - to better understand the Amish and their culture. Either way, this book wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it is still a nice, quiet little book that discusses the Amish lifestyle and its effect on the author.

Sue Bender says became fascinated with the Amish way of life when she saw an Amish Quilt on display back in her adolescence. She eventually wheedles her way into an Amish home in order to "experience" their culture. She is pretty upfront about describing this as a personal spiritual journey in order to bring real meaning t to her own life. Lord I hate that phrase. Why do I care? I guess I really was expecting to find more about the daily life of the Amish instead of the daily life of Sue Bender. However when she did get around to describing their life and culture (filtered through her eyes) it was sort of interesting.

It was a quick read and I'm glad I almost finished it before I gave up. Would I recommend it? I don't think so.

Tim - Movie

Based on story by Coleen McCoulough
Rated: ★★★★

This is a wonderful movie starring a very, very young Mel Gibson as Tim Melville, a slightly mentally retarded young man who is hired to do yard work for Mary Horton, played by Piper Laurie in the role of a well-to-do, but lonely, business woman. Mary is also much older than Tim is.

While he does work around her house, Mary gets to know Tim, as well as his working class family. As time goes on, a deep fondness that ripens into love develops between the two. He brings her out of her shell, and she teaches him to read and explains concepts that will enable him to function better in the world around him. Based upon Colleen McCollough's book of the same name, this is a very well acted-film, with fine performances by the supporting cast, as well as the leads.

61. Exit the Rainmaker

by Jonathan Coleman
Rated: ★★★★½

A true story of a college president and a government consultant who one day just walks away from everything, job, wife, friends and disappears leaving a few cryptic notes behind.

The book goes into the events that led up to his taking this drastic step (no crimes, no affairs) and the effect it had on all the people he left behind. It also tells how he built another life for himself that was truer to his real self. The real self that he, rather unfairly I thought, concealed from his wife and friends. How can you punish people for failing to understand you and what you want from life if you never let on what it is you really want. While I had little sympathy for his wife it bothered me when he just walked away and refused to ever explain himself to her.

In spite of it being slow in parts I am finding it interesting because I think that all of us have entertained at least brief thoughts of throwing up our hands and walking away from their real life.

Outlander

By Diana Gabaldon
Rated: Could Not Finish

The is the first book on my Great 2007 Reread Adventure that I found to be a huge disappointment when I tried to read it again. I seem to have moved way on since the time I found these books to be so good. I will admit that my frustration with this book is colored by my frustration with the series as a whole.

I think that I am just worn out with the story. Apparently it is not going to have an end in my life time and while that the main characters, have gotten older they haven't matured much. They are still crashing around like a couple of oversexed 20 year olds from misadventure to misadventure.

After six or seven books (how many has it been?) I am weary of the whole business. It's a real shame that I feel this way because I was really looking forward to a nice leisurely reread of these books.