Socks Rock!

A good friend of mine from high school (more than 20 years ago! Ish!) has an eight-year-old son who wants to change the world one pair of socks at a time, by collecting socks and distributing them to the homeless in the area, the Salvation Army and various Veteran's Associations.

I think it is a fabulous idea and I wanted to pass the information and website on to all of my readers.

The website is very simplistic, but then again, pretty sharp for an 8-yr-old's work! It gets right to the heart of the matter, no fooling around, no difficult navigation.
Way to go Jarrett! Socks rock and so do you!

The website is Socks Rock! Please see how you can help.

August #5 - CANDY APPLE RED

Title: Candy Apple Red

Author: Nancy Bush

Publisher: Kensington

Copyright: 2005

ISBN: 978-0-7582-0906-1

Series or stand-alone: #1

Setting: Lake Chinook, OR

1st Sentence:

If I'd known they were about to find a body at the bottom of Lake Chinook, I never would have gotten myself into the whole mess.

Comments:

This book was just okay for me. I think part of my problem was that it was blurbed by Lisa Jackson, saying "Move over Stephanie Plum, Jane Kelly has arrived!" and I expected more, because I love Janet Evanovich - and it wasn't as funny as a Plum book. Well, that and when I finished it to the back cover and found out that Lisa Jackson is her sister, well, I was a little perturbed by that. It was an okay mystery with some likeable characters and a dog that was my favorite part of the book. Maybe it was too cozy for me. I don't know. I do know that I don't know if I liked it well enough to read #2 and more.
Any thoughts?

August #4 - LIFE AS WE KNEW IT

Title: Life as we knew it

Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer

Publisher: Harcourt, Inc.

Copyright: 2006

ISBN: 978-0-15-205826-5

Series or stand-alone: #1

Setting:Howell, PA

1st Sentence:

May 7
Lisa is pregnant.

Comments:

This is another favorite read of mine this year. Written in diary entries, sixteen-year-old Miranda describes her family's struggles to survive after a meteor hits the moon, causing worldwide tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Weather goes crazy, gas prices soar, deaths abound and Miranda and her family hope only to survive. A wonderful story.

August #3 - NEPTUNE'S CHILDREN

Title: Neptune's Children

Author: Bonnie Dobkin

Publisher: Walker & Co.

Copyright: 2008

ISBN: 978-0-8027-9734-6

Series or stand-alone: Stand-alone

Setting:Isles of Wonder theme park

1st Sentence:

Prologue
The plague struck like a snake, silent and deadly.

Comments:

When biological terrorism hits, every adult on the Isles of Wonder theme park dies leaving young teens and children to face a world without authority. One teen, Milo, steps forward as King Neptune and together they build a society with the park.

I automatically thought of LORD OF THE FLIES when I read this book - the warring of good versus evil - and I truly enjoyed this book and it's modern day stance.

August #2 - POSSESSION

Title: Possession

Author: Jennifer Armintrout

Publisher: Mira

Copyright: 2007

ISBN: 978-0-778-324-18-8

Series or stand-alone: #2

Setting:Grand Rapids, MI - Death Valley, CA

1st Sentence:

Prologue
Welcome back
He didn't know how long he'd been dead.

Comments:

The only thing I have to say about this book is that I was so mad by page 2 that I was ready to chuck in the whole series. But I'd already purchased the other two books so I read on. And I was mad again by the end of the book. My girlfriend assures me that I'll like books 3 and 4. We'll see.

And it has nothing to do with the writing...the writing is just fine. It's the choices made by the author regarding characters that had me all spitfire and damnation bound.

Breathe...I'll get over it.

August #1 - THE SCREAMING ROOM

Title: The Screaming Room

Author: Thomas O'Callaghan

Publisher: Pinnacle Books

Copyright: 2007

ISBN: 978-0-7860-1812-3

Series or stand-alone: #2

Setting: New York, NY - Carbondale, PA

1st Sentence:

Prologue
The rain had stopped.

Comments:

Twins Angus and Cassie come from one hell of a childhood and they are doling out their own warped sense of justice on other pervs in the city when Driscoll and his team are called in to investigate. This was a good police procedural - I'd recommend to patrons who like John Sandford and the like.

July #7 - INFECTED

Title: Infected

Author: Scott Sigler

Publisher: Crown Publishers

Copyright: 2008

ISBN: 978-0-307-40610-1

Series or stand-alone: #1

Setting: Ann Arbor, MI

1st Sentence:

Prologue
This is the place...
Alida Garcia stumbled through the dense winter woods, blood marking her long path, a bright red comet trail against the blazing white snow.

Comments:

I am not really a big fan of science fiction but I have a feeling this book will stay with me for a very long time...it's been over a month since I read it and all I have to do is think of the "triangles" and I get a shiver. People are being "infected" with an unknown agent - triangles that turn them into homicidal psychos. Is it related to Morgellon's disease? Possibly. Biological warfare? Maybe. Perry Dawsey, one of the infected, fights back! Scary stuff! The second book, due out soon is CONTAGIOUS.

July #6 - MY DARLING, MY HAMBURGER

Title: My darling, my hamburger

Author: Paul Zindel

Publisher: Bantam Books

Copyright: 1969

ISBN: 0-553-12741-1

Series or stand-alone: Stand-alone

Setting: A waterfront community but never stated
1st Sentence:

"It was Marie Kazinski who asked how to stop a boy if he wants to go all the way," Maggie whispered.

Comments:

I read this book because a friend of mine said it was her favorite book in Jr High and she remembered reading it and giggly uncontrollably. I think the fact that it was written before I was born had something to do with how I felt about it. Not that it was bad, but ish...really not my cup of tea. Anyone else have an opinion about this book?

July #5 - FUZZY NAVEL

Title: Fuzzy Navel

Author: JA Konrath

Publisher: Hyperion

Copyright: 2008

ISBN: 978-1-4013-0280-1

Series or stand-alone: #5

Setting: Chicago suburbs

1st Sentence:

It's quiet in the suburbs.

Comments:

Things I loved about this book: It's #5, a continuation of Jack Daniel's story, very fast paced (the whole book taking place in just a little over a 24-hour period.)
Things I didn't care for all that much: It's told from the viewpoint of 7 or 8 different characters, sometimes first person POV, sometimes third. Present tense, awkward at times, other times I didn't even notice. And the ending was a cheap shot and I've already spoken my piece with Mr. Konrath about it.
Will I read the next one? Heck, yeah!
Was I satisfied with this one...meh.

July #4 - EXIT STRATEGY

Title: Exit Strategy

Author: Kelly Armstrong

Publisher: Bantam Books

Copyright: 2007

ISBN: 978-0-553-58819-4

Series or stand-alone: #1

Setting: Ontario, Canada - New York - Las Vegas - West Virginia

1st Sentence:

Mary Lee pushed open the shop door.

Comments:

Nina runs a hunting lodge in Canada. And, she's a hitwoman. "Jack", her mentor, calls her up when the Helter Skelter killer strikes. He's aiming the Feds towards hitmen and that would be really bad for business. Together, along with some other hired assassins, they must hunt the HSK - and find it could be one of their own. This was a great story with fun characters which I started reading coincidentally right after I saw the movie WANTED with Angelina Jolie in the theaters. I'm looking forward to book #2.