Category Archives: General

522 pages.

 I became interested in reading this book after going to the movies and seeing a preview of this novel.  From the preview I could tell it would be a story that I would enjoy reading very much.  I also recently joined a book club and this is the reading selection for the month of September.

The story in set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962. (In 1962, I was only one year old.)  It is a story about Abileen, a black maid and her friends and the work that they do during the time when the civil rights movement was just starting.   A young socialite just home from college with the ambition to be a writer sets out to write a book in secret about what it is like for a black maid to work in the white homes of the South.  Some stories told are heartbreaking and others quite humorous.  The women who participate in the book writing take great risks in this endeavor with the hope that the world will be a better place from the stories that are told.

This is also Kathryn Stockett’s first novel.

I would highly recommend putting this novel on your summer reading list.

The main character of the book is a young lady named MacKayla Lane.  MacKayla is a typical twenty-one year old until her sister who is studying abroad in Ireland is murdered.  MacKayla is determined to go to Ireland to find her sister’s killer.    In this first book of the series, MacKayla discovers that she is a sidhe seer and begins her quest to find the book called the “Sinsar Dubh”.  This book tells of how to open the gates between the human world and the Fae world. On this journey she meets Jericho Barrons who helps her  in her quest.

This book is not the type that I would usually read.  It is full of fantasy and mystical creatures.  This book is the first in a series that Karen Moning has written.   Every Sunday I like to read the best-seller list that is published.  The fifth book in the series “Shadowfever” was listed as the #1 best-seller on February 6, 2011.   The description read “In the fifth book MacKayla is caught up in the struggle between humans and the Fae”.  This one sentence caught my attention.  I did a little search on the internet and decided to read the first book in this series.  It is not every day that I find a book that has “creatures” that are called by my name so I decided to read it.

Will I read the rest of the books in the series?  I do not think so.  I do not like to read about something that has uses my name and is full of evil.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson: 644 pages

This book is a New York Times Best Seller.  It is not one that I would usually read but I thought it was about time I tried something different.  The bright yellow cover caught my eye.  The critiques in the book such as “A fine, complex and rewarding novel” and “exceptional…. meticulously plotted, beautifully paced” help me to decide that this is the one to read instead of a romance, or theological book that I would normally read.    Well, it took me just about 6 weeks to read this crime novel.  I thought the book was a little slow at the beginning.  It was hard to get going on the story plot.

The book is set in Sweden.  Michael Blomkvist is a financial journalist that has been convicted of libel.  During his time away from his magazine that he owns, he is hired by a wealthy Vanger family to investigate the disappearance of  Harriet Vanger that happened over 40 years ago.  During his investigation he is added by Lisbeth Salander, a pierced and tattoo punk prodigy.  During the investigation, they come across corruption and a serial-killer.

I thought the end of the story left open some lose ends.  The hopeless romantic that I am was hoping that Blomkvist and Salander would be together at the end of the story.  Not so – but I guess that leaves open her story for the next book – “The Girl Who Played With Fire.”

The book was just okay.  I was glad I check it out of the library.  I am not sure I want to spend money on the sequel.  I will read it if I can borrow it from someone.  I also think it might take me a while to get to the end .

Love is a Verb by Gary Chapman

223 pages

This book consists of stories of love.  I enjoyed the stories and I also felt like many of the stories were ones that I could have told.  I have recapped what each story has to say about love.

1. Loving generously causes unforgettable rewards.  Caring for someone not only benefits the other person but can cause a ripple effect creating an experience of community.
2. Verbal apologies are important and can cause much needed healing when expressed.
3. Love has the ability to adapt.  When faced with difficulties, love has a deep reservoir that can be drawn from.
4. Small gestures can make our lives and the lives of others a better place.
5. The saying “Familiarity breeds contempt” tends to be true.  When we spend hours of hours of time with someone we begin to see all kinds of faults. The trick to get past this is to close our eyes to the irritating factors of a person and focus on their positive attributes and before long that is all we will see.
6. It is human nature to withhold and wait to give until we are sure we will benefit.  Sometimes the best thing to do is take the first step yourself and see the changes that can take place.
7. Compromise is not bad.  Being flexible, understanding, and showing the ability to support the other is necessary for the relationship to grow and develop.
8. Love is not always convenient.  Willing to accept interruptions and intrusions into our lives in relationship with others can open up all kinds of possibilities.
9. There is nothing new under the sun.  Checking resources and being teachable – being open to listen to others will enable us to move outside our struggles and begin to seek help to make it through the issue causing tension.
10. The capacity to love is not limited as long as we are willing to take a chance.  It may cost us at times but the result well exceeds the expense.
11. Never give up to soon on the person you care about.
12. When we love, sacrifice becomes a way of live.  It is not the grand gestures, but in the small daily choices that are made when we set aside our own desires for someone else.
13. It is hard to love  when a person is in pain or has addictions.  The first step in showing love is to nurture them and take care of their basic needs.  Patience is a must.  And when they lash out do not take it so personally.  Love is stubborn.  By the grace of God we can find love strong enough in this situation.
14. Love looks different to people.  Discover how the other person feels loved to learn their love language.
15. Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.  Consistent good deeds give proof of a changed heart. When a relationship feels more like a battle then do good deeds to instill new hope and life and friendship in the relationship.
16. Love can be hidden.  We may have to dig up painful memories and renew relationships but if we discover hidden love then unexpected rewards might happen.
17. Love often means coming to the rescue when a person we care for needs us.
18. Looking at other’s needs and desires and preferences can turn relationships into win-win situations.
19. Learn to love despite the outward appearance, and an unexpected jewel may be found.
20. Abuse is not acceptable, but love looks beyond the painful past of a person we love and look into a hopeful future.
21. The more we learn to love the more we want to show that love.
22. Adding romance to the core of your love takes time but well worth the effort.
23. To love others means to free them from our unreasonable expectations.
24. Every person has positive and negative traits, no matter how seldom we notice the negative ones. Love does not mean for us to wear blinders but to take the good with the bad.
25. People change.  Learning to love new personalities in familiar skin takes courage.  It means not only loving who the person was but also embracing who the person has become.
26. Love does not require for us to have all the answers.  Instead many times love just asks for us to listen to the problem.
27. It’s not about me.  The best relationships are those in which we decide that everything should revolve around the other person.
28. We can not control anyone else in a relationship situation.  But we can pray for the best.
29. Sincere complimentary words are valuable.
30. Relationships go through seasons.  Just hang in there when the going gets tough.
31. Sometimes we wear ourselves out “doing” in a relationship.  Sometimes it is better to just be with someone instead of always doing.
32. Sometimes it is hard for us to rest in the assurance that live is true especially if we feel we are not giving as well in return. When we are willing to trust another’s love, we can take the risk to be authentic.
33. When it comes to fighting in a relationship, pick your battles wisely.  Only use emotional energy on things that really matter.
34. Love is a perspective.  Focus on the heart and then it is not hard to overlook another person’s mistakes and failings.
35. Stable, mature love is deeper than emotional words and displays of affection.  The words and touches are nice but they are not everyone’s way of expressing love.  The key is to change our expectations to something that is reasonably within our loved one’s personality.
36. A relationship takes 100% not 50%.  The more we give of ourselves the more we receive.  The less we expect of others, the more we get.
37. The key to weathering the storms of life is to nurture your relationships every day.
38. Putting hatred and revenge to death and choosing to love can sometimes bring new life to the person we chose to love.  Regardless, choosing to love, we choose to shed pain and find more abundant lives ourselves.
39. People who are tough to love are often tough to love for a reason. Realizing we are not the problem frees us.  It lets us look beyond ourselves and keep trying to build a relationship without thinking we are the one who is doing something wrong.
40. Love is an act of faith.

Out Side My Window… I see the back porch, the dew on the grass and the sun beginning to shine on the neighbor’s house.

I am thinking…the I wish I could stay at home instead of working at the office today.

I am thankful for…. next week.  My daughter will be going home from college for Thanksgiving break.

I am wearing… exercise clothes – black capri pants, old blue tee shirt, and a purple lightweight jacket.

From the kitchen… trying to come up with menus and a grocery list for the upcoming week and for Thanksgiving.

I am creating…several projects.  I really need to focus on the Tee shirt quilt for my daughter.

I am going…To exercise after writing on this blog, then off to work, and tonight – Bible Study.

I am reading….“For the Fame of God’s Name” by Sam Storms, Justin Taylor

I am hoping…that my day at work will be very productive … finish several financial statements today.

A few plans for the rest of the week…work, clean house for my daughters visit.  Most important – to clean my home office/craft room so that I can work on my projects.