Dear readers of Hook, Line and Stinker,
This is just a brief note to tell you I am still alive and hope to resume posting soon.
For the past 10 years I have been sick. Extremely sick. But I've plugged on because what else could I do? After a bout of extreme sickness in August, not long after my last posting, I did some research and decided that gluten might be the problem. In September, after some soul searching and deep breathing, I went gluten free and have been recovering from a decade of illness. Along with that, came immersing myself in the Celiac and GF community, learning all I could about how to make myself better.
It is a lifestyle change that had to be made in order to make myself well. I am still very involved in that community, and always will be, but it's no longer all-time consuming. Of course, as a librarian, I continued to read and keep track of what I've read. Now, I just need to find the time to put the words down on this blog and that time, it is a comin'!
For those who continued to check-in, thank you for letting me know this blog means something to those other than me. For those new to H, L & S, welcome and stay tuned.
I'm off to eat some fruit...a staple of my new found life!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, August 7, 2010
May #5 - STUFFED
Title: Stuffed
Author: Eric Walters
Publisher: Orca Book Publishing
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 978-1-55143-500-8
Type of book: YA
Setting: New York
1st Sentence:
The credits started rolling up the screen.
Comments:
15-year-old Ian Cheevers sends out a mass email to get people to boycott eating at a local fast food restaurant for just one day after watching a documentary called "STUFFED" about the chain in question. This book is about that and the ensuing results of that action.
To whom would I recommend this: Any tween looking for a book about choices and decisions, my green scene kids
My rating: 3/5
May #4 - ABRAHAM LINCOLN, VAMPIRE HUNTER
Title: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
Author: Seth Grahame-Smith
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56308-6
Setting:Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Washington D.C
1st Sentence:
Facts
1. For over 250 years, between 1607 and 1865, vampires thrived in the shadows of America.
Comments:
So, this is the first book that I ever read that made me want to read more about our 16th President, or any President for that matter. And I looked up stuff as I went along. Most of the text is factual - except for the vampire hunting part. It chronicles the life of Abe Lincoln, from his early life, through the Civil War, his presidency and his assassination.
My rating: 5/5
May #3 - LISTEN
Title: Listen
Author: Rene Gutteridge
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4143-2433-3
Setting: Marlo
1st Sentence:
Prologue
Meredith sat quietly in the center of her room on the carpet that had been freshly steam cleaned for the party.
Comments:
A website pops up called Listen to Yourself and what is being posted is private conversations between Marlo residents. This has fights breaking out and is stirring up a lot of emotions. Damien writes for the newspaper and is in the middle. His best friend Frank is a police officer; he is too. This book was a quick read and for being classified as Christian Fiction, it wasn't too preachy until the very end.
To whom would I recommend this: Patrons looking for a clean mystery with a faith based story
My rating: 3.5/5
May #2 - this world we live in
Title: this world we live in
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Publisher: Harcourt
Copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-547-24804-2
Series or stand-alone: #3
Setting: Howell, PA
1st Sentence:
April 25
I'm shivering, and I can't tell if it's because something strange is going on or because of the dream I had or just because I'm in the kitchen, away from the warmth of the woodstove.
Comments:
The characters of the first and second books meet in book 3 nearly a year after the moon is knocked closer to Earth and Miranda is trying to keep it together, despite her growing feelings for Alex.
My favorite line: Page 197
Librarians! Librarians always know how to find out things. That was their job before the Internet.
My rating: 4/5
May #1 - THE BLIND SIDE: EVOLUTION OF A GAME
Title: The blind side: Evolution of a game
Author: Michael Lewis
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co.
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 978-00-393-06123-9
Book type: Non-fiction
Setting: Memphis, TN
1st Sentence:
Back Story
From the snap of the ball to the snap of the first bone is closer to four seconds than to five.
Comments:
Of course the only reason I read this book was because I saw the movie and loved it! Football only holds my interest at playoffs and Super Bowl time. And the book was okay but I have to admit that I liked the movie better only because the book was filled with so much football stuff and there were times when my eyes would glaze over. I did, however, learn a whole lot more about the game, so that's a plus.
To whom would I recommend this: Football fans, readers of feel good stories who don't mind some sports stuff thrown in, people who rave about the movie
My rating: 4/5
April #5 - THE TIME OF MY LIFE
Title: The time of my life
Author: Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4391-5858-6
Series or stand-alone: Memoir
Setting: California, New York
1st Sentence:
Prologue
In late December 2007, life was looking pretty good.
Comments:
This memoir was written by Patrick and his wife Lisa before his death, but it was published posthumously. Patrick Swayze led a really interesting life and I was surprised at a few of things that I read: He was a formally trained ballet dancer (working for the Harkness Ballet in New York City & Disney on Parade), he was a carpenter, he showed Arabian horses and had a ranch called Rancho Bizarro. He survived serious knee injuries from his football days, depression, trouble with alcohol, but in the end pancreatic cancer got him. He died September 14, 2009.
To whom would I recommend this:
Dirty Dancing fans, people who like to read autobiographies of stars
My rating: 3/5 - The story was interesting; the writing and editing could have been tighter.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
April #4 - HOUSE RULES
Title: House rules
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher: Atria Books
Copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7432-9643-4
Series or stand-alone: Stand-alone
Setting: Townsend, VT
1st Sentence:
Case 1: Sleep tight
At first glance, she looked like a saint: Dorothea Puente rented out rooms to the elderly and disabled in Sacramento, California, in the 1980s.
Comments:
I loved it! Jacob has Asperger's syndrome and he's very much into forensic science. When his social skills coach disappears and is found dead, all clues point toward Jacob. But did he do it? This book, like many of Picoult's others, is written in multiple points of view.
To whom would I recommend this: People who enjoy fantastic family fiction.
My rating: 5/5
April #3 - HERO AT LARGE
Title: Hero at large
Author: Janet Evanovich
Publisher: Harper
Copyright: 1987, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-06-198594-2
Series or stand-alone: Stand-alone
Setting: Fairfax, VA
1st Sentence:
Chris Nelson muttered an indiscernible oath and expelled a cloud of frost into the bone-chilling early-morning air.
Comments:
This is the last of her early romance re-releases. If you've read the last 11, you've read this one but with different characters. I so prefer the Stephanie Plum books to these, but I'll read anything Evanovich writes; I just won't necessarily pay for it (I'm a librarian, what do you expect?). She's found a forever fan in me.
To whom would I recommend this: Evanovich fans and fans of light romances.
My rating: 3/5
April #2 - THE SPELLMANS STRIKE AGAIN
Title: The Spellmans strike again
Author: Lisa Lutz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4165-9340-9
Series or stand-alone: #4
Setting: San Francisco, CA
1st Sentence:
Prologue
Phone call from the edge #28
Morty: What's new, Izzele?
Comments:
Izzy's agreed to take over the family business and the family is as nuts as ever.
To whom would I recommend this: I recommend it to fans of Janet Evanovich. Some like them, some don't.
My rating: 3.5/5
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