Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Teddy is a U.S. Marshall and he and his partner Charlie have arrived on Shutter Island to investigate the possible breakout of one of the criminally insane patients at the asylum, Ashecliffe Hospital, that makes its home on the island. Teddy quickly realizes that all is not right. The patients he interviews seem coached, the orderlies and doctors know more than they're letting on, and no one really seems concerned enough about the woman who has disappeared. The more he investigates, the more Teddy comes to realize that events are conspiring against his being able to leave the island at all.

OMG! I would love to talk to anyone who has read Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island! I've been reading about the movie for months and have seen the previews quite a bit in the last several weeks as well. I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie and I am SO glad I did. I can hardly wait to get this book into my patrons' hands at the library. It was not spooky and creepy as I once imagined that it would be, but it is a tense, tightly plotted, suspenseful thriller that I was pretty sad to finish. I've got another of Lehane's novels, Mystic River, on my TBR list now!

! ! ! this just in ! ! !

Patron: What Ellis Peters' books do you have that I haven't read?

from my brother

optometry humor :-)

Lashisse from Molly Sims

mom's new puppy, MAN

The chihuahua is my Aunt Cathy's dog, Chiquita and the other is my mom's new pup, MAN! This pic is almost two months old so he's three times that size now, but he looks much the same. Mom isn't having him groomed or trimmed, she just brushes him everyday and he very much resembles a mop...if a mop was a wiggly, licky, happy little thing. He's so sweet!

culinary experiment

Well, the Amish cinnamon bread that I've been making quite deliciously for months now flopped this morning, but these little beauties, in addition to being picture perfect, are scrumptious! I talked my bookgroup into reading Jonah Lehrer's Proust Was a Neuroscientist for our October meeting so I thought I'd try making madeleines in honor of the event. I wanted to try it out first to make sure I wasn't going to embarrass myself and I am SO not going to be embarrassed!

Don't worry guys! I'm bringing them to work tomorrow!

Alabama Moon by Watt Key

Alabama Moon has been raved about alot here in Alabama, obviously. Not only is it set in Alabama (1980's), but it is also written by an Alabama author!

Ten year old Moon knows nothing of the outside world. His mother died when he was 2 and he has lived in the forest with his government-hating, survivalist father all his life. His only contact outside the forest has been the general store in town where his father barters for necessities with the vegetables they grow. After an accident leaves his father very sick, he tells Moon to head to Alaska after he dies to look for other people who live like they do. To Moon's amazement, the outside world won't stand for a 10 year-old boy to live on his own and the chase is on. All his father's horror stories about authority ring distressingly clear for young Moon and all he wants is to be left alone. It is only after he is caught and sent to an orphanage that Moon begins to think that maybe being alone is not the best thing after all.

This book was really, really good! I listened to it and the narrator really brought these characters to life. I felt so sorry for Moon all along. I feel like if just one adult had sat down and had a grown up conversation with him from the onset (grown up conversation was all he'd ever known) instead of treating him like a child and scaring him by chasing him around, then most of his travails could have been avoided. Of course, that would have been a very short and very boring book. While it is relatively short, it is not boring by any means.

The age range Amazon recommends is Grades 6-8 and I don't disagree. The only thing here that sensitive groups might be concerned about is some mild cursing. You have your damns, hells, sombitches (I don't know how it's spelled in the book, that's my phonetic interpretation from the audio), and the like. Some of the adults drink and chew tobacco. I can think of nothing else anyone would be concerned about. I wish, wish, wish the local schools would put this on their summer reading lists. I think some great discussions could come out of it.

let me give you my helping hand...

A friend of mine at work has been inundated with phishing emails for several months now. No one can quite figure out why but it has been highly amusing from time to time. Here is a very special email he received this week:

Aloha, my gentleman

I am a very open-minded and cheerful girl. I appreciate life as an invaluable gift. I believe in the eternity and love God. I am creative by nature, aspire harmony and perfection in everything. I am independent, have my own opinion and act as I think I should. I am an intelligent person, but I will always obey and agree with the wise and noble decision. I enjoy museums, theatre and reading. I am active and practice yoga, run every evening, swim regularly, enjoy travel to mountains and dancing with romantic music. I am a cheerful and sociable young lady. Mainly all the time I am in a good mood. I can tell that I am a little bit stubborn, I like when everything is the way I like. I value my close people and my friends, if they need my help I will turn myself upside down to give them my helping hand. I like to go to the cinema and theatre. I like traveling by car with my friends. I am fond of sport and I often go to the gym and I like skating. I wish to open my own store of nice underwear. I am looking for a honest, intelligent man, kind, able to support his family.

Yourth faithfully
Lenusik

Binky is stressing me OUT!

I got one mouse right off the bat and have seen/heard no physical signs of another one. The only thing is, Binky still continues to stake out the appliances in the kitchen. She sniffs around and hunkers down to wait and I have no idea if she's just anticipating more activity or there's another one running around. I know they don't usually come in singly, but after the first one I kept Bink locked up and left the traps out for a couple more days before taking up the traps and letting her back out. After a few of her stake out sessions, I got the fantods, locked her in my room last night and put the traps back out. Dhe yowled, and I mean YOOOOOOWLED,

All.

Night.

Long.

I was so pissed AND tired AND grumpy today. To the unfortunates I had to work with today, I hope I hid it well.

I don't know what else to do. I have no money to hire a pest control service. Is it ever okay to live with a certain amount of mousiness? Should I just get over it? Has anyone else been through this before and have any advice for me? Pretty please?!?!

On another note, my radio interview aired at 10:30pm this past Sunday. I informed very few people because, in the event it sucked, I didn't want my whole social circle to have heard it. I tuned in promptly at 10:30 as the email from the interviewer had instructed...and the program was half over, my part having already passed. I admit I was relieved I did not have to hear and judge myself. My colleague who was also in the interview said it was great. I'll take that and not feel compelled to test her judgment. You'll all be happy to know that the interview involved absolutely no vomit on my part!

If you will direct your attention to the "My Success" sidebar item, you'll notice that I have very nearly broken into the 200's! I'm terribly excited! That is 86 pounds gone since Feb 2008. Not a great rate of loss, but I'm doing my best!

gotta go, must sleep.

A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans

George Davies has sought professional help for a troubling problem. He cannot bring himself to hold his infant son. He admits to his therapist that this is not his first time to sit in a therapist's chair.

The doctor gives George a set of blank notebooks to journal in and a terrifying story emerges of an eleven year old boy who meets a Friend no one else can see who tells him things no one else can hear. Is this troubling past merely the result of his father's recent death, the bullies at school, or is something more sinister at work?

A Good and Happy Child came very, very close to scaring me, but overexplanation ruined it for me in the end and I found myself slightly disappointed again. Zippy recommended this to me because she loved it so much. I have no idea why I wasn't scared out of my wits other than there was too much discussion of the events and not enough action. My imagination didn't have enough to go on since the author supplied so much backstory and explanation of the phenomena. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Show me the monster, and chances are good that I lose interest. Let me imagine the monster for myself and I will be up the rest of the night.

I hope I have not given the impression that I did not like this book because that is not true! It definitely gave me the fantods on several occasions and I basically read it in one sitting, finishing up around midnight. While I didn't really have any problems going (and staying) peacefully asleep, I don't recommend this method :-) AGAHC is a great first effort and I will most definitely read his next book! Justin Evans is one to watch!

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

One of my friends has been recommending The Art of Racing in the Rain to me since before publication and I'm ashamed that I've just now got around to it because I LOVED IT! What a story!

Enzo is a dog and he is the narrator of this story. His owner, Denny Swift, is a semi-professional race car driver seeking fame and fortune. Enzo constantly laments his lack of voice and opposable thumbs. He makes commentary on life, reincarnation, love, and happiness while sticking by Denny through some of the worst possible life experiences and offering the reader his own brand of philosophy, gleaned from a lifetime of listening to the conversations of others without being able to contribute your own opinions.

"That which you manifest is before you."

"Your car goes where your eyes go."

Sounds silly, but Enzo will change your mind, maybe even your life, if you give him half a chance. Just to give you a heads-up in the beginning, this is not a comedy....a dark night of the soul (for Denny especially, with Enzo providing the moral support) would be a more apt description but it is SO worth your time. I plan on giving this book to my Dad for Christmas.