Sunday, May 31, 2009

My computer is broken

and boy do I miss it. I'm sitting here at my sister's using her computer while she is on vacation. I took my computer into a new shop to get it fixed ten days ago and it's not a major problem (hopefully, just needs a new back light for the screen). Unfortunately, the "technician" is too busy to get around to fixing it. Now if he had told me that ten days ago, I would have gone elsewhere and if I'd have known eleven days ago that my computer was going to break, I would not have bought a new washer.

I miss keeping up with my on-line friends, but I've read five books and knitted a whole sock since May 24. I think I need to spend a whole lot less time on the computer.

The Divorce Party

by Laura Dave * * * *

Maggie and Nate are planning to marry and Nate's parents are planning to divorce. On the eve of Gwyn and Thomas' divorce party, Maggie finds that Nate has not been honest with her about his past and the fact that his family is part of the uber rich. As Maggie reconsiders her relationship with Nate, Gwyn tries to get Thomas to reconsider the end of their marriage.

The characters in The Divorce Party are real and the insight Ms. Dave shows into their often complicated feelings as they live their lives is truly a party for the reader.

Shadow Dance

by Julie Garwood

* * *
Julie Garwood writes romance books, but she also has the knack for writing a good mystery. Her stories are not unlike the Phyllis Whitney mysteries that I liked to read 30 years ago, with a little romance and sex thrown into the mix.

In Shadow Dance, Ms. Garwood continues the stories of the Buchanan, McKenna, and Clayboure families, that she has written about for years.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

by J. K. Rowling

* * *

Fairy tales and fables told to young wizards and witches. Every Harry Potter fan(atic) will read this book and add it to their Harry Potter collection. Not only is it another clever telling of how good triumphs over evil, but all of the proceeds go to a Children's charity.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow

* * * *

Told in letters mainly from and to Juliet Ashton in 1946. The novel is the story of a group of people who lived in an area occupied by the Germans during WWII. It shares how they came together, both during the war and in the aftermath.

The island of Guernsey is full of characters you will want to meet and the Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a book club you will want to join.

This book would be a great book club selection and I recommend it to everyone.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Celebrates Sisters

by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen with pictures by Maria Bushkin Stave

* * Another chicken soup book with touching stories about sisters and relationships between sisters. I got this book from my sister, Nikki, for my birthday and passed it on to my sister, Staci, on her birthday.