See ya March

March update.  8 books.  I am kinda impressed with myself since the John Brown book was around 800 pages.  I didn't think I'd read many.  Here goes:
 Just Like Me, Max Lucado;
Cloudsplitter, Mr. Banks;
Eyes of the Beholder, Lis Wiehl;
 Murder of King Tut, J. Patterson;
Heart Echos, Sally John,
 The Elsingham Portrait, Elizabeth Chater;
Worth Dying For (a CD book), Lee Child;
and Maid of Fairborne Hall, Julie Klassen.
 Four historical books, a devotional, and three contemporary.  One was a book on CD and two were on the kindle.  no rhyme or reason here.  Got two Julia Child books checked out today from the library.  Gonna do a little French.
This month started Walk Kansas.  Been trying to excercise at LEAST 2 hours a week.  Last week I barely cut that but this week I did a lot more.  That's gonna cut into my reading time, but obviously I need to excercise and if I'm gonna cut out reading for something, a work out is a good one to do it with.  Now!  Gonna plant that garden!

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall review

Margaret Macy is your typical spoiled rich girl.  She lives in the 19th century England in a wealthy family with servants, boarding schools and the like.  However, even the rich have their problems.  Margaret's mother married a scoundrel, Sterling Benton, who gambled all his money and is now looking to scam the Macy women out of theirs.  He has a nephew that he wants Margaret to marry, but she has her sights set elswhere.  Margaret overhears a plan the two men cook up to rape her and pressure her into marriage with the marriage being the only way to save herself from the scandel of the rape.  She runs away from home and hides with another family discising herself as a servant.  Through her servitude she learns a great deal about humanity, kindness, and what is important in life.  One thing I can always say when I finish a Julie Klassen novel is that I am really glad I was born in my own time.  Being a woman of the 19th century must have really stunk. 
"The Maid of Fairbourne Hall" is a really interesting story.  The subject matter is rather unusual.  Most 19th century novels show only the rich and the servants are rarely mentioned.  If they are, they tend to be loyal to the masters and find them of "quality" and "class".  Never sounded very true-to-life to me and this book tends to agree.  The maids in this book feel and think exactly how I have always felt about all my bosses.  I don't think "quality" was a word I ever used to describe them.  It tends to get a little long. Still a pretty good book.  I received "The Maid of Fairbourne Hall" by Julie Klassen for free from Bethany Publishers.

10 Deep Dark Secrets of Me

Confession #1:  I steal all of the Hershey Kisses out of my kids' Easter baskets.  I do.  I take them all and they are delicious.

Confession #2:  Everyday at lunch I watch old episodes of Scrubs.  That show cracks me up.

Confession #3:  I am a Metallica fan.  I am 38 and I will be a Metallica fan until I die.

Confession #4:  I sometimes fantasize about kicking people's butts.  I am really awesome in my imagination.  I am full of vicious kicks, I throw people against the walls, I put Angelina to shame. 

Confession #5:  I would make a glorious cat lady.  I would have 100 cats if I could.  Fat cats, orange cats, cats everywhere.

Confession #6:  I like to watch Swamp People and mimic their accents. 

Confession #7:  Speaking of Swamp People, you know that blonde guy that is missing a tooth?  One time he got trapped by a gator and he killed it with a pocket knife.  I don't think I've ever seen anything sexier.  I know!  I should be ashamed.

Confession#8:  Speaking of sexy, I have a thing for Spock.  You know, from Star Trek.  I used to think it was the actor when I was a kid, but then when the new movie came out and I still thought Spock had it goin on and I realized I had seen the actor dozens of times and never thought much of him, it accured to me that it was Spock that I have the hots for.  Pointed Ears and all.

Confession #9:  I bawled when Jessie died on All My Children. 

Confession #10:  I know all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody.  Thank you Wayne.  Oh and I also know all the words to the movie Junior Bonnor.  Thank you Alex.

bibles everywhere

Recently I received two bibles for free.  One was "The Voice Bible: Step into the Story of Scripture" which I received from http://www.thomasnelsonbibles.com/ through their Thomas Nelson Blog Bunch.  "The Voice" is the New Testament  told like a story.  It is still the New Testament in tact, but it adds a few words here and there to make the story flow more like a...well, a story.  The added parts are written in italics.  The dialogue is written in script format.  Making the vocal part stand out more.  The other bible was the "Life Application Study Bible:  New Living Translation" given by Tyndale's New Living Translation Facebook page.  This is the complete bible with a ton of notes, maps, you name it.  I like reading the Voice more, but for the bible study I am taking the NLT works out better.  The NLT is more accurate and deep so it is better for a studying, however, it is huge!  Heavy to carry around.  I'll keep and use both.  Recommendation?  If you are taking a class, using the book as a learning tool, wanting to go deeper with your knowledge and history, buy the NLT.  Want to read for pleasure and be close to God:  get the Voice.

the eyes do more than follow you

Kathryn Hendrix is a modern woman living in New York in 1974.  She is independent, educated, and bored.  She recently gets dumped by her philandering boyfriend and takes off in one of those hissy-fit-in-the-rain moments.  She takes refuge in an art gallery and comes across the Elsingham Portrait of Nadine Elsingham.  Nadine in a woman with a past from 1775 England.  While looking at the portrait, Kathryn time travels to 1775 into Nadine's body.  Where Nadine went is anybody's guess.  Kathryn must try to keep from enduring the results of the mess Nadine has gotten herself into as well as escape the witch and 1775 superstitions. 
This book was written in the 1970's as a "Georgian Romance" novel.  I am guessing kinda like a harliquinn.  It is being re-released on digital format by the the author's family.  It can be a little corny in places (as any selfrespecting romance novel does), but it's actually a pretty good read.  It's not deep or going to make you think a whole lot, but it is pleasant and passes the time well.  It also has a lot of 70's pro-women issues being addressed, which is always good.  I received "The Elsingham Portrait" by Elizabeth Chater for free from http://www.librarything.com/. 

not this time review

"Not This Time" by Vicki Hinze is is the 3rd book in the Crossroads Crisis Center series.  It is a Christian fiction.  This book stars Beth and Sara.  Sara was orphaned as a teen and went to stay with Beth's, her best friend, parents.  As adults, the two have their own company that aids with the government to solve crimes.  I think.  This is not one of those books that you can read without having read the other two in the series.  The first several chapters were complete confusion trying to catch the reader up to what was going on.  It is a continuous series that must be read in order.  So if you are interested start off with her book "Forget Me Not".  However, this one is a very good thriller.  It starts off fast and goes fast to the end.  It is one that makes you WANT to read the other two, not because you need to, but because you can't stand the thought of not knowing what all is going on.
This book starts off with a party that has been attacked by a terrorist group and goes on with Sara's husband being kidnapped.  Beth is the prime suspect in the kidnapping.  Beth must solve the crime's before she is labled.  I received "Not This Time" for free from http://www.bloggingforbooks.com/. 
http://vickihinze.com/books

heart echoes

I received "Heart Echoes" by Sally John for free from Tyndale Publishing.  This novel stars Teal, her husband River, and her daughter Maiya.  They live in California.  The book opens up in LA with Teal and River in the middle of a major earthquake.  River is at home, but is injured; Teal in on a freeway.  She watches a bridge come down during the quake and then suffers from Post Traumatic Stress.  Where is Maiya?  Well, she's supposed to be at a friends house.  That is where things get interesting.  She, being 15, has sneaked to a camp ground with a 19 year old boy.  Anyway, this than that happens and Teal and Maiya wind up in Oregon visiting Teal's estranged family and visiting the ever present topic of "who's Maiya's daddy?" 
This is a really good book.  It is labled Christian, but I especially like how the Christians are human the whole time and not preachy.  They cuss, get knocked up, lie, feel guilty about it all, but still they are human.  This book shares the authors faith without jamming down your throat.  I'd read this if I were you.

eyes of justice review

I love Lis Weil as an author.  I like this series a lot.  It does remind me a little too close of the James Patterson Women's Murder Mystery series, but it is good enough to stand on its own without being a copycat.  "Eyes of Justice" has the feel of a final book in this series.  It is the fourth in the series.  Haven't read the first one yet, but I have purchased it recently.  I'll get to it.  In this series, for those of you haven't read any of them, it involves three women who went to high school together, but were not friends at the time.  At their 10 year reunion they meet and discover that they are all three involved in the wheels of justice.  Cassidy is a crime reporter, Nic is an FBI agent, and Allison is a federal prosecutor.  The three form the Triple Threat Club. 
In this book Cassidy has been murdered and the prime suspects are connected to the police force that is involved with solving the case.  So it is up to Nic and Allison to solve the crime correctly.  Weil is also a, oh, I don't know what you'd call it, commentary(?) on Fox News.  My husband watches all the time.  So I know who she is. Weil goes into the problems of being a woman on the news in todays internet driven society.  \ Weil gives a peek into her world as a television caster and and how men (and therefore the producers) treat women who are television.  Its a bad, bad, world.  I highly recommend this book, actually, anything written by Weil. I received this book for free from www.booksneeze.com.

February books

I read the same number of books in Feb that I read in Jan. In January I read 2 digital to 7 paper books.  February: 4 digital to 5 paper.  Here goes the titles:  Day of War;
Bathsheba;
Conversations about John F Kennedy (highly recommend that one);
 Sweeter than Birdsong;
Covenant of War;
 To the Nines;
Dead Man in a Pear Tree;
When Morning Cries;
 and Stand by Me. 
Currently am reading a book with close to 800 pages, so I'm gonna bet that March will be a lower number month.