Murder, Monsters, Mayhem 2012

Murder, Monsters, Mayhem is hosted by Jenn of Jenn's Bookshelves during October.  The only goal is to read a book or watch anything from the supernatural, horror, or thriller genres.

At the very least, I plan to read Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist. My other book choices will be on the fly. Any recs feel free to leave a comment.

Bloggiesta 2012

It's time for Bloggiesta 2012.  Bloggiesta is hosted by There's a Book and  It’s All About Books during the last weekend of September.  The goal is to complete some items on our blogging to do lists and get to know some bloggers. 

My goals for this weekend:

• Get current on posting reviews to Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, etc.
• Catch up with my reviews.  (So behind OMG)
• Make some changes to the blog design.
• Meet some other bloggers.

New Years Resolution Nearly Accomplished

One of my New Years Resolutions was to run at least a 5k.  Well last night I registered for a 5k.  I chose this race because it's close to home and I really like the medal.  At this point, the race is 46 days away so I'm already kind of behind as far as training for speed, so I'm just concentrating on finishing in a decent time and enjoying the experience.  I can't wait to compete in my first official race.  I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to get a copy of The Barefoot Running Book by Jason Robillard, so I've been reading and using the techniques to refine my running stance and manner.  I'm wearing light weight sneakers; I live in NYC and can't fathom running barefoot or in those thin soled shoes even in a park. 

Has anyone competed in any race lately?  Any training tips or book recs?

Review: Saving Peace by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

Saving Peace by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar
ASIN: B006VIOZ1A










 Saving Peace follows a group of women thirty years from students at  women only Peace University to their middle age.  Siobahn, calculating, in everything she does snags the man and manages to become a local news anchor.  Her ambition wreaks havoc on all her relationships, since she only interacts with people if there is some benefit to her. Mary Ann, the charming southern girl, is the first to marry but sets aside her poetry and writing to be a stay at home mom to her infant, teenage, and adult sons. Putting her dreams aside to focus on her family and her absent husband causes severe depression. Kim overcomes cancer and bulimia to become president of Peace University. Her decision to admit male students to Peace University sparks much criticism and angst amongst students and alumna of the school.

 Saving Peace intertwines the stories of the three women across the years. Although outside of the first couple pages of the books, they didn't really seem like friends.  Over the years they mainly communicate by voice messages and chance meetings.  As the story progresses, I was left to wonder why they bothered. The benefits to continued friendship or even acquaintance seemed minimal.  Not to mention that they didn't seem to have any other friends.  They all are emotional train wrecks. There were also issues with time: the term Bridezilla was thrown around and Golden Girls didn't start until 1985 although the girls were supposed to be watching it together in 1977.  Also one of the character's son had a Game Boy in 1988 even though they weren't released anywhere until 1989.
 

Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar is a South Asian American who has lived in Qatar since 2005. Moving to
the Arabian Desert was fortuitous in many ways since this is where she met her husband, had a baby,
and made the transition from writing as a hobby to a full time passion. She has since published five e-
books including a mom-ior for first time mothers, Mommy But Still Me, a guide for aspiring writers, So
You Want to Sell a Million Copies, a short story collection, Coloured and Other Stories, and a novel
about women’s friendships, Saving Peace. Most recently, From Dunes to Dior, is a collection of essays
related to her experiences as a female South Asian American living in the Arabian Gulf. After she
joined the e-book revolution, she dreams in plotlines. Learn more about her work on her website at
www.mohanalakshmi.com or follow her latest on Twitter: @moha_doha.

Review: Too Many Cooks by Shirley Ann Wilder

 Too Many Cooks by Shirley Ann Wilder
 Publisher: Bouroughs Publishing Group







Bitter news leads a San Diego widow and widower to true love—and to a scheme to
marry off their adult children, a plan that goes deliciously awry.

Gaetano Lorenzo was the sweetest man that the widowed Estelle Bennett had
ever met. That morning began terribly, with awful news, but now the owner and
head chef of a local San Diego ristorante was offering up Italian delights: red wine,
delicious food, walks on the beach, laughter when she’d never thought she’d laugh
again…. Estelle felt twenty-five. She and Gaetano had found the recipe for love, and
a simple variation might just get their adult children to settle down, too. A scoop of
sugar, two ladlefuls of lust, a pinch of deception and a whole 24 oz.-can of danger—
Suddenly, ingredients were coming from everywhere! But kitchens are crazy places,
and variety is the spice of life. And for anything to get cooked, things have to get
hot.

 Too Many Cooks is was a quick read, to the point of being rushed.  It basically the story of a romance that develops between two middle-aged people who are scheming to get their children together.  The scenes between Gaetano and Estelle are especially sweet, while the scenes between Alex and Gina are kind of cliche.  I didn't like the fact that the parents were milking Estelle's alleged imminent death for so long to manipulate the kids, but all in all this was a cute if cliched story.  If you like brisk romance reads, this is a great book for you. 

From the time she could hold a pencil, Shirley Ann Wilder wrote stories. Being the youngest of six
children, she was overlooked many times but found wonder and magic in reading books. As a youngster
she was especially fond of horse books and read every one of Walter Farley’s Black Stallion books.That passion for horses carried over into her adult life and with her husband and four children, raised
Quarter Horses and German Shepherds. Shirley’s other passion was writing, but it was put on hold until the three sons and one daughter were in high school.After taking numerous writing classes and amassing many unfinished manuscripts, one of her writing instructors suggested she join Romance Writers of America. Taking that advice she also joined thelocal San Diego RWA chapter has since completed six novels. She served on the Executive Board as Co-President of RWA- San Diego for 2006 and 2007 and held several other chair positions. She credits her fellow writers for the support and encouragement that has kept her writing during recent difficult times.
**I received this book via Innovations Online Book Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.**

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz
Sale Date: September 11, 2012
 Now Díaz turns his remarkable talent to the haunting, impossible power of love – obsessive love, illicit love, fading love, maternal love. On a beach in the Dominican Republic, a doomed relationship flounders. In the heat of a hospital laundry room in New Jersey, a woman does her lover’s washing and thinks about his wife. In Boston, a man buys his love child, his only son, a first baseball bat and glove. At the heart of these stories is the irrepressible, irresistible Yunior, a young hardhead whose longing for love is equaled only by his recklessness--and by the extraordinary women he loves and loses: artistic Alma; the aging Miss Lora; Magdalena, who thinks all Dominican men are cheaters; and the love of his life, whose heartbreak ultimately becomes his own. In prose that is endlessly energetic, inventive, tender, and funny, the stories in This Is How You Lose Her lay bare the infinite longing and inevitable weakness of the human heart. They remind us that passion always triumphs over experience, and that “the half-life of love is forever.”

Review: Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel by Maria Semple
Publisher: Little, Brown, & Co.
Publication Date: August 14, 2012

Aloof and disinterested in socializing, Bernadette Fox is the object of morbid curiosity from her neighbors and the parents at her daughter's school.  Everything gives her a tizzy fit (cold Seattle people, weird design of intersections in Seattle, Idaho drivers, Canadians, etc.) causing trips outside her house to be major ordeal.  Trying to avoid human interactions and the ensuing anxiety leads Bernadette to basically hand over her life to her secret virtual assistant Manjula in India.

Bernadette's husband Elgin Branch works at Microsoft and is the lead on a major project. He is totally absorbed in the Microsoft culture to the detriment of his relationships with his wife and daughter. Her daughter Bee (short for Balakrishna) is 14 years old and small for her age.  They represent the bulk of her non-Manjula communications.  Despite her anxiety issues and irritability, she is a great mom to Bee.  When Bee requests a trip to Antarctica as a reward for excellent grades, Bernadette agrees to having a family vacation.

Everything starts to go to pot when a neighbor accuses Bernadette of running over her foot.  Removing her blackberry bushes at the same neighbors request just results in a fundraiser ruining mudslide.  Add in some alleged shadiness on the part of Manjula and Bernadette starts to slip even further.  Being recognized by a passerby is the icing on the cake.  Elgin, unaware of all the troubles Bernadette is dealing with, starts to fear for her metal health after several strange incidents.  When he holds an intervention, Bernadette bolts. 

Using the accumulated documents, Bee discovers Bernadette's whereabouts and we finally get to here from the lady herself. Bernadette Fox was a innovative designer; she was incorporating environmentally friendly building techniques before they were a thing.  She is a legend in architectural circles for building The Twenty Mile House plan free and entirely from materials sourced from both the sites and locally.  After the incident, Bernadette runs to Seattle and avoids any mention of the Twenty Mile House.  Elgin thinks once Bee is born that all is past but once he starts paying attention he sees her massive issues for the first time.  Despite Bernadette's issues, her help and support allowed him to be the Microsoft absorbed man he was.

Where'd You Go Bernadette is a great novel.  I totally like this book almost 100%.  The characters were well written and crafted with care- even some of the side plots that seemed superfluous were integrated with the rest of the plot. I was so engrossed: it was totally annoying to have to take breaks for work, dinner, socializing, etc. Maria Semple wrote for one of my favorite shows Arrested Development and now one of my favorite books this year. 


**This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.**