Fabulous Book - Very Valentine

Have you ever read a book that was so good that you didn't want to read the last forty pages because then the book would be over?  Well that's where I am and that's what's happening.  I'm heading to the sun room to read the last forty pages and I fear that Trigiani isn't writing fast enough for me to get the next installment in this series when I finish.

This book is beautiful!  The characters are people you know and the problems belong to all of us.  I know the next forty pages will only leave me hanging and waiting with baited breath for the next one.  Adriana Trigiani, I love you!  Wow!

The Romanov Prophecy

Recently I finished Steve Berry's Romanov Prophecy. It is fantastic. It is full of good history with excellent fiction woven within it.

I've been to Russia twice and knew or at least knew of many of the places mentioned in the book. Stalin's metro stations, the train ride from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Red Square, the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's tomb, the onion domes of the Russian Orthodox Churches, the Alexander Palace and Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo - all fond memories of two remarkable trips. I think it's time to get out my photos and journals and relive them without the pressure of Berry's characters rushing me forward through an excellent book...

So if you're a fan of Russian history, the Romanovs, great historic fiction, or fast-paced thrills, you will love The Romanov Prophecy!

AND Berry lives on the Georgia coast...

A Parable for Our Time

I just finished reading The Shack by William P. Young. It is a very interesting story. If you have read it, what did you think?

I love a book that makes you think and this one does!

New Book

I'm thinking of writing a book entitled Bird Butts and I think I may have gotten my cover shot today!

No, really - If you have never tried to get a photo of a towhee, you really can't appreciate what a great shot this really is. They are constantly moving - so this is the absolute best towhee picture I have ever taken. If you've managed to get this great of a shot of a towhee from another angle, my hat is off to you!

Moving On to Important Things

I must say that retiring is fun. Had I known just how MUCH fun, I would have done it years ago. My family and friends have been so sweet. I can truthfully say that I am happy to be over it. Now on to full time family, friends, fun, travel, photography, and enjoying my own backyard! Just think, my birds and squirrels will get fresh water every single morning!

This is my choice for first read as an unemployed person. I LOVE Dorothea Benton Frank and Bulls Island is terrific!!!

They Make My Heart Sing

Today, after lunch with my family, I sat in my sunroom reading Water for Elephants. The book is good but not good enought to keep my mind off of what was all around me. I had squirrels, nuthatches, chickadees, cardinals, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, mourning doves, juncos, Carolina wrens, blue jays, brown thrashers, titmice, and even a precious chipmunk. I did far more watching than reading and finally went for my camera. This shot is the squirrel claiming the nut feeder for his very own. He sat there most of the afternoon daring any of the birds or other squirrels to get near it. Worked on me as well. I took a couple of pictures and left the boy alone. I love Sundays!

PS - The book is excellent!

Summer Reading

So nice to have time to read just for the fun of reading. I just finished The Land of Mango Sunsets by Dorothea Frank. I met the author a few weeks ago at a reading/signing and she was delightful. I love her characters and her stories she weaves in this book. Actually, she just reminds us to live and love because not much else really matters! Betsy, do NOT buy this book - you have a birthday coming....