4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Oregon Files, RATING, Read in 2012, READING CHALLENGES 2012, SERIES

2012.7 REVIEW – Golden Buddha by Clive Cussler

Tara

Golden Buddha
by Clive Cussler & Craig Dirgo

Copyright: 2003
Pages: 420
Rating: 4/5
Read: Mar. 7– Mar. 18, 2012
Challenge: Off the Shelf 2012 Challenge
Yearly Count: 67
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy

Blurb: Clive Cussler, creator of the bestselling NUMA and Dirk Pitt series, presents his latest and most intriguing high seas action hero: the enigmatic captain of the Oregon, Juan Cabrillo.

In his first feature-length adventure, it’s up to Cabrillo and his crew of expert intelligence and Naval men to put Tibet back in the hands of the Dalai Lama by striking a deal with the Russians and the Chinese. His gambling chip is a golden Buddha containing records of vast oil reserves in the disputed land.

But first, he’ll have to locate–and steal–the all-important artifact. And there are certain people who would do anything in their power to see him fail…

Review: Every once in a while I like to break out of my mystery reading and pick up a fun adventure book. This particular book definitely fit the bill for that! Apparently Mr. Cussler introduced Juan Cabrillo’s character in one of his Dirk Pitt novels. Having only read two Dirk Pitt novels, I had never met Juan Cabrillo before. That being said, I found him and his Corporation to be quite interesting.

The reach that the Corporation has is truly intriguing. It was interesting to have all these smaller storylines running along with the others only to have them connect back up a little later on in the book. As I mentioned above, I mainly read mysteries, but an adventure book is almost always fun. This book (when I had time to actually sit down and read more than a couple of pages) was really fun and fast paced. The way the story just unfolded in front of me was amazing. Little things here and there ended up being connected to the overall story in ways I never would have imagined.

Overall I’m definitely glad that I gave this series a chance (as if I needed another series, haha!). And I hope to be visiting the Oregon again soon!!

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Another week gone?

Tara

Wow, I’m not sure where these weeks are going? It’s like just yesterday I was looking at a positive home pregnancy test and now tomorrow I will be 28 weeks. Crazy!!

I’ve been reading a little bit this week, but I find my concentration starting stray more and more. I’m reading “Golden Buddha” by Clive Cussler. It’s starting to get interesting, I’m about 120 pages into it. So I’m definitely looking forward to getting some more reading done. … But I find that hard to do when it’s SELECTION SUNDAY! I love me some March Madness! My reading always dips this time of year, I’m always too interested in basketball, lol.

This is something that I don’t usually discuss and consider it my one and only public service announcement: For those homeowners out there, I highly recommend you sit down and go over your home insurance policy coverage. Having both sets of grandparents and my parents dealing with insurance coverage in the aftermath of the tornado, I have a new understanding of insurance policies and how to read them. We have found that we are severely under-insured and will be correcting that in the coming weeks. Something to keep in mind, which I knew nothing about: say you have $100,000 coverage on your personal property within the house – if you have a tornado/fire/etc., and find that you need some of your furniture restored and some of it replaced completely, the restoration costs come directly off your personal property coverage first and then you are left with the remaining amount for your replacements. Plus you have to think about depreciation as well. There’s a lot more to it than I realized. I know I complain every time the insurance bill comes, but I don’t think I will ever complain about that ever again after experiencing this with my family. Also something else, there’s a big difference between choosing to rebuild and choosing to just take your money and go purchase something else. My grandparents are finding that there’s almost a $100,000 difference in what their insurance company will pay out for them to rebuild on the same lot versus just giving them money to find a new house to buy somewhere else. Just something to think about, since this is something I’ve never had to deal with and really had no idea what would happen. But a simple rule of thumb: if you can afford it, over-insured is better than under-insured.

Okay, I’m off my soap box now 🙂

I got the dreaded phone call on Thursday that I was kind of expecting … I have to go tomorrow for the 3 hour glucose test. I’m definitely not looking forward to that. I have this really bad feeling that I may already have gestational diabetes. It’s something that I’ve feared since the moment I realized I was pregnant. But I’ll just have to deal with it if it comes to that. All I want is a healthy baby boy 🙂

I hope everyone has a good up-coming week. I hope to get some reading done tomorrow at my doctor’s office, followed by a yummy lunch with my mom! Other than that it’s just going to be another week at work. I’m starting to think about my maternity leave and how my responsibilities will be split up and dealt with. Ugh.

Until later 🙂

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Randomness

Tara

I got the dreaded call today … from my doctor’s office … I have to go in for the 3 hour glucose test. Ugh. I had this really bad feeling that this would be the case. She said my sugar was 170 and they call anyone over 130 back in for the other test. Definitely not looking forward to this. With my terrible veins, my arm already black and blue, I’m definitely not looking forward to having to have my blood drawn FOUR times on Monday. My mom said she would go with me. Part of me wants someone there. Part of me would prefer to sit in the office by myself with a book. I guess I’ll take the company though, it’s probably best. Plus I’ll get a free lunch with my mommy afterwards :):)

I watched my DVR’d American Idol from last night. I cringed when I found out the girls would be singing Whitney Houston songs. I tend to think “don’t sing Whitney or Mariah songs, it’s almost always a disaster waiting to happen.” But I am happy to say that Jessica Sanchez is AMAZING. I was in total shock and awe of what that girl can do … at 16! Amazing. However I have to say that overall, I’m not impressed by the contestants this year. I don’t know, I’m just not feeling it. I guess I’m too much into The Voice to be stuck on Idol. I don’t know. As much as I love singing competitions, it might be time to put them to rest already.

My parents house keeps getting worse and worse. It’s raining inside their house. On their hardwood floors. Wonderful.

It’s going to be a long day at work tomorrow. Accounts payable day. Yucky.

I’m off to watch Monday’s episode of The Voice. I love the battle rounds!!

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, E, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2012, READING CHALLENGES 2012, SERIES, Taylor Jackson

2012.6 REVIEW – The Immortals by J.T. Ellison

Tara

The Immortals
by J.T. Ellison

Copyright: 2010
Pages: 389
Rating: 4/5
Read: Feb. 22– Mar. 6, 2012
Challenge: Mystery & Suspense 2012; Off the Shelf 2012 Challenge
Yearly Count: 6
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy

Blurb: It is Samhain – the Blood Harvest. Nonbelievers call it Hallowe’en. The night when eight Nashville teenagers are found dead, with occult symbols carved into their naked bodies. It’s a ritual the killers believe was blessed by Death himself.

When children are victimized, emotions always run high, and this case has the public both outraged and terrified: a dangerous combination. Recently reinstated homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson knows she has to act quickly, but tread carefully.

Exploring the baffling culture of mysticism and witchcraft, Taylor is immersed in a darkness that threatens to unbalance the order of her world, and learns how unchecked wrath can push a killer to his limits.

Review: I have enjoyed all of the Taylor Jackson books in this series so far and this installment is no exception. I had a bad feeling going into this book when I found out that there was an occult spin on the storyline. I tend to steer clear of anything with witches/vampires/werewolves, etc. It’s just not my thing. But I love Taylor’s character and was pleasantly surprised to find this one enjoyable. I guess I should say that while there was that aspect to this story, it wasn’t too overpowering for someone who tends to not care for paranormal stuff.

For whatever reason it had been a few months since I had read the previous Taylor Jackson book. I don’t know why; this book had been on my shelf since before I finished the previous book. (It’s probably because it had the occult/paranormal twist and I was putting it off). So I had a little bit of trouble recalling some things that had happened previously. But all in all I found this one to be another great installment in this series.

I need to say that while you do not have to read these books in order, it is definitely for the best that you do.

So I guess my final rating would be that it was another good installment in a favorite series!

Life

Some people have no concept of what’s important

Tara

And by some people I really mean my in-laws.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re nice people. They’ve always treated me great. I love them.

But they can be so senseless. Honestly.

As my loyal readers know, my hometown was hit by a tornado. Six people lost their lives. Including one of my mother-in-law’s co-workers. Hundreds of others were injured. Hundreds of homes were either damaged or destroyed. My mom’s parents lost their home completely, my other grandmother has major damage and my parents have pretty serious damage. I’m feeling the effects of this tornado in a way that a lot of people can’t comprehend.

Which is what brings me to the topic of today’s blog post.

My in-laws have no concept. They just don’t get it.

My baby shower is temporarily called off. It’s honestly the least of my worries. To be completely honest, I’m about 6 seconds away from cancelling the whole damned thing. It’s no longer a priority. It was supposed to be hosted at my grandmother’s house with a local caterer catering. Well as I mentioned above, my grandmother’s house is trashed. And the caterer’s building is shut down for at least another 6-8 weeks after suffering major damage there. And now that I can’t have exactly what I want, I don’t want it at all. I’m stubborn and I don’t like change. But I’m also only going to have one baby shower. I should be particular. I have every right to be. And by golly, I’m the mother-to-be. I should have a pretty good say in what I want for this.

So the last thing I need is my mother-in-law calling up telling me that (a) I don’t have the right stuff on my registry  and (b) I need to hurry up and decide what to do about a date and a place. THIS IS NOT HER SHOWER. I don’t need someone breathing down my back about this. And there is no way on earth will she be hosting this shower – not ever going to happen, not in a million years.

End rant one.

Begin rant two.

So we find out last night that my husband’s 45+ year-old uncle (I honestly don’t know how old he is, all I know is older than 45 and younger than 56) is going to be a father. Again. With a 35-year-old woman he’s been casually dating. I personally don’t see anything wrong with this. They are both old enough to know better, but you know what, things happen. And maybe it’s just my pregnancy emotions, but I don’t see anything really terrible about bringing a child into this world. Sure, it’s not an ideal situation, but nothing in life is ever ideal. But the way his mother was talking, you’d think the world was ending. She actually said that this whole thing was “detrimental to my mom’s health.” Please. She is not in any way, shape, or form on her deathbed. She’s relatively healthy for her age. This is not going to kill her. I’d like to know where they get off thinking they’re so darned perfect. (And I need to add that this is the same uncle that got divorced about 3 years ago, that was a huge scandal as well.)

I guess I am just too liberal for his mother’s family, because their conservative ways of thinking is really starting to get on my nerves. No wonder his dad doesn’t get along with his in-laws, he’s quite liberal as well.

End rant two.

I think that’s all I’ve got for today. I’m almost done with the book that I’m currently reading: The Immortals by J.T. Ellison. It’s only taken forever, but after the tornado hit last week, I haven’t had any time to even think about reading. I hope to finish that up tonight so that I can get a review posted in the next day or two. It sure will be nice to finish a book, it’s been so long I’ve almost forgotten what that feels like!!!

Baby Book Addict, Miscellaneous Ramblings

Week 27 Update

Tara

Wow. Three hours at the hospital was way too much for me today.

My first stop was at the Women’s Center laboratory to get my blood drawn for my Rh Negative shot. I have terrible veins and was definitely dreading that. They informed me it takes 2 hours to formulate the shot correctly.

Then it was off to my doctor appointment. I had to drink the glucose drink. Yuck. I chose the orange flavor. It actually wasn’t that bad, kind of like a flat Orange Crush. I was reading the side of the bottle about the side effects. I was lucky; I didn’t have any adverse reaction. I’m confident that I passed my glucose test. But obviously I will have to await the results to know for sure.

I had an extra ultrasound today too to check on the spot on his heart. The technician told me that it was “miniscule” and in the pictures that I was able to come home with, it does indeed look like it has shrunk – so maybe things will work out in the end after all in regards to that 🙂 He weighs 2lbs4oz and is measuring perfectly for 27 weeks.

Then it was time to see the actual doctor. Everything seems to be right on track. My weight is still perfect for where it needs to be. I have actually had a very textbook pregnancy. I’m thankful for that. Of course I know that it can change at any moment, but for now things are progressing perfectly.

I am now going to be going back to the doctor every two weeks (it was every 4). So that makes my next appointment on March 19th. And this one will be an exciting one!! We are going to be getting our 4D Ultrasound! Woo! I’ve already invited my parents and Nathan is going to invite his parents (although they have a stricter work schedule than my parents and more than likely won’t be able to come). I hope that this will provide a nice distraction for my parents considering all that they’re having to do with regards to their house and my grandparents’ homes in the aftermath of the tornado.

I guess that’s all I’ve got for now. I’ve been a busy little bee trying to get my books back organized in their proper places. I had to move them all when we got the new carpet laid, and I’m just now getting around to putting them back. Plus I’m making a major purge of books while I’m at it. I have right around 300 books and will be donating or trading at least 55 of them. That will be a big relief for me. I can’t read all these books. And I’m finding that a lot of them just don’t appeal to me anymore, so why keep them around? I’m a hoarder, that’s why!

Hope everyone has a good rest of the week.

Announcements

A New Direction

Tara

I’ve been toying with this idea for quite some time. But I was always hesitant to pull the proverbial trigger. So here goes….

This blog is going to be taking a new direction. I will still be posting book reviews, but there’s going to be a lot more to this blog from now on. Obviously this has already been quite a year for me personally. I am going to be welcoming my first child in early June. My hometown just got hit by a tornado, and three of my family members’ homes are either severely damaged or destroyed completely. There’s a lot more going on in my life than just my reading. I’ve only finished 5 books this year. I’m not posting enough. I have a lot to say, just not all of it revolves around books. I don’t really want to change my blog name/address. I don’t really want to start a new blog completely. I just want to morph this blog into something else to suit my needs.

I hope that I don’t lose followers/readers by making this decision. I understand if I do, though.

Life

Putting Everything in Perspective

Tara

I have had one of the worst mornings in my life. A morning like this will definitely put everything in perspective. It will make you realize exactly how lucky you truly are.

My little hometown might be making national news. And not in a good way.

To start from the beginning….

At 4:22am this morning my husband’s cell phone rang. You always dread those phone calls. They can never be good. His dad was at work and was saying that there were tornadoes coming our way. I was pissed, we had no rain, no lightening, no wind. Nothing. It was silent. I even posted on my Facebook page that 4am phone calls were for family emergencies only and that I was not afraid of storms. Boy do I feel stupid now.

At 5:11am a co-worker called me. He said that there were reports of some really bad weather in Harrisburg (Illinois, not Pennsylvania) and that I might want to re-think coming up for work. By this point I’m still irritated that I’ve been woken up so early.

Approximately 5:17am, Nathan’s dad calls back and said that there were reports of the south side of Harrisburg being demolished by a tornado. I might want to try to get into contact with my family.

That woke me up. I was still pissed, but my in-laws have a bad habit of crying wolf when it comes to storms. They freak out. I’m the opposite, I’m standing outside looking up at the sky (sometimes a pretty dumbass move).

By this time the storm sirens were going off in our town. So I figured I should at least get dressed, just in case something did happen. Then I tried to call my parents. Straight to voicemail. Then my grandma, straight to voicemail. My other grandparents, they have no cell phones and I wasn’t surprised that there would be no power, so no answer.

I bring up my Facebook app on my iPhone and see a friend from high school has posted that the police scanner is saying that there is severe damage out by the hospital. That is where my family lives. Panic mode begins.

I don’t even know how many phone calls I made trying my hardest to get through. I’m not stupid, I knew cell phone service in that town would be a disaster. But I couldn’t think of anything else to do. I felt so hopeless. It was a terrible feeling.

All I could think of was that I had to have my family still with me. I want my son to know their grandparents and great-grandparents. It was a terrible feeling.

Finally I saw exactly what I wanted: “DAD” came up on my caller i.d. I think I breathed for the first time in at least 35 minutes. My parents, their two dogs, my grandmother were all fine. Their homes were severely damaged. Structurally they are okay, but the insides are a mess because their windows blew out. Dad’s vehicle had some serious damage. But he had no idea about my other grandparents. It would be another 40 minutes before I would hear that they were okay physically, but that their house was also severely damaged.

It definitely puts everything in perspective. I felt my whole world crumbling. I didn’t want to lose my entire family in one swoop. That would have been the worst thing ever.

We were supposed to go to St. Louis tomorrow – that trip is cancelled. My baby shower was supposed to be at my grandmother’s house at the end of March – that is not happening.

Obviously it will be a few days before the weather service announces any concrete information about the tornado. And it was definitely a tornado. How severe, I have no clue. Will it make the national news? I have no idea about that either. Are there any confirmed deaths? Not yet, but there are some unsubstantiated accounts of at least 3 dead so far. That one section of my hometown looks like a war zone. Obviously I’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of pictures and accounts like this before, but it’s never been my hometown. And this time it is. And it’s heartbreaking.

But you know what can’t be changed or replaced or fixed? Family. And I still have mine. And that’s all that matters right now.

For the pictures:
PICTURE ONE: Damage around the south side of my hometown
PICTURE TWO: This is what is left of a strip mall
PICTURE THREE: That is all that is left of the building that was my old church. The church itself had been closed for about a year after being closed down by the Lutheran Senate due to lack of parishioners.
PICTURE FOUR: More damage
PICTURE FIVE: My parents house. I don’t know if you can tell but one of my dad’s back windows in his vehicle is busted out. There are a lot of shingles off their roof. The fence to the left side of the picture is demolished and I can tell when I blow it up that the fence in their backyard is destroyed.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2012, READING CHALLENGES 2012, S

2012.5 REVIEW – Don’t Scream by Wendy Corsi Staub

Tara

Don’t Scream
by Wendy Corsi Staub

Copyright: 2007
Pages: 476
Rating: 4/5
Read: Feb. 9– Feb. 15, 2012
Challenge: Mystery & Suspense 2012; Off the Shelf 2012 Challenge
Yearly Count: 5
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy

Blurb: In a remote, heavily wooded area near the Berkshires of Massachusetts, Rachel Lorant died on her birthday. But she didn’t die alone. That night, her four sorority sisters make a solemn, trembling pledge. They will never reveal what has just happened in those woods – ever. Instead, they will take their terrible secret to their graves…

Now, ten years later, their secret is coming back to haunt them as each receives a card in the mail from Rachel: “Happy Birthday to Me. xoxo R.” It’s clear that someone knows what happened that night. Someone is stalking them and sending mysterious, chilling gifts that only they can understand – deadly warnings of what is to come. For the sins of the past have come back with a vengeance, and a killer will see that they all pay in blood…

Brynn Costello has never felt such pure fear. She didn’t want any part in what happened so long ago, but now, the mother of two will do anything to stay alive and protect her family – even if it means matching wits with a killer she can’t see … a twisted psychopath who is closer than she thinks and who is saving her death for last…

Review: This book was such a fun read! It was non-stop suspense with lots of twists and turns. When I looked back at my records, I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t read a book my Ms. Staub since 2009 … and all I can do is question what’s wrong with me?

Overall, I would highly recommend this book (and this author in general). The writing was very good. The characters are well-developed and interesting. I found it cool that Brynn and Fiona had remained friends after their college days, even though they were polar opposites!

The who-dun-it part was quite interesting to me. The killer was not at all who I thought it was going to be, which is always a nice surprise. Even though Brynn was pretty much the main character, I liked that the reader gets to hear from the other characters as well, I always find that enjoyable in a book such as this where there are quite a few characters.

I guess I don’t know what else I can say about this book. I liked it. A lot. I would definitely recommend it.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Kindle County, RATING, Read in 2012, READING CHALLENGES 2012, SERIES, T

2012.4 REVIEW – Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

Tara

Presumed Innocent
by Scott Turow

Copyright: 1987
Pages: 421
Rating: 4/5
Read: Jan. 29– Feb. 9, 2012
Challenge: Mystery & Suspense 2012; Off the Shelf 2012 Challenge
Yearly Count: 4
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy

Blurb: Hailed as the most suspenseful and compelling novel in decades, Presumed Innocent brings to life our worst nightmare: that of an ordinary citizen facing conviction for the most terrible of all crimes. It’s the stunning portrayal of one man’s all-too-human, all-consuming fatal attraction for a passionate woman who is not his wife, and the story of how his obsession puts everything he loves and values on trial – including his own life. It’s  a book that lays bare a shocking world of betrayal and murder, as well as the hidden depths of the human heart. And it will hold you and haunt you … long after you have reached its shattering conclusion.

Review: Sometime last year I picked this book up, read 80 pages, and walked away from it. I just never took to it at the time. However, I hung on to it. I considered trading it (and the other books in the series that I have collected), but I never could make myself do it. I can say that I am glad that I did not trade it. While I will admit the beginning was a little hard to get through, mainly because of all the flip-flopping between what was going on and what was being described by Rusty to his psychiatrist. But once I got through that part the book really started to take off.

I will admit that this book has to have, honestly, some of the best legal courtroom scenes I have ever read. I was just totally enthralled by the courtroom action. Sometimes I felt as if I was right there in the courtroom watching the action unfold. And when Rusty’s lawyer, Sandy, had his big shining moment in the courtroom, it was simply unbelievable! Criminal defense lawyers would probably give their right arm to have that kind of moment in a case.

That’s not to say that this book isn’t without its faults. First of all, as I mentioned above, the beginning was a little slow to get into. And my biggest complaint is that the “who-dunit” part wasn’t all that surprising to me. I kind of had an inkling about halfway through about what the outcome would be, and sometimes that irritates me. Maybe I just read too many mysteries, I have the “formula” figured out 🙂

Either way, I am very glad that I read this book (finally!). I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great legal thriller. And I’m really hoping to see the movie sometime in the future … I can’t believe I never saw the movie either!