Long Holiday Week-end

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving. So much great food. Followed by so much laughter playing Catch Phrase. Then out to the garage to watch and take part in a Ping Pong Tournament. It was such a nice day. Came home feeling fine, read for awhile, woke up at 2:30 am with the flu. My plan was to start a diet yesterday. The flu was not part of the plan. I slept on and off allllll day yesterday. The only reason I forced myself to stay awake was my body hurt from laying in bed too long. I lost an entire day of reading from being ill. That said, I have managed to finish two books.

The first book I read was, Where or When by Anita Shreve. I have read a few of her books and love them. This book, not so much. I rate it a 2. I can promise The Old Lady I will forget I ever read it very soon. It is a story of a man and woman who connect 30 years after they first met at a summer camp. They were each other's first loves. They first connect through letters, than they start meeting at a inn that was created on the grounds where they went to summer camp. I am not sure what the purpose of this story was. I would not call it a love story. I do not want to spend too much time writing about it. I already wasted enough time reading it.

The second book I read was, Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox. I rate this book a 3. The only thing that kept it from being a 4 was some of the details about campaigning bored me. It is odd to read a book written by someone with a debilitating disease like Parkinson's and still feel like they are a lucky person. The best thing Michael J. Fox did was marry Tracy Pollen. They have an amazing family and a great marriage. His disease has brought them closer.
One of the best things about the story is it did remind me that stem cell research is personal. I have always supported it. Now it has a face. Several faces. It is not just research. For some people it is life and death. This is a good book to read. It is informative. Parts of it are political. The personal things about his family are so impressive. It offers many different stories within one book.

Time to open the next book. No time to play. I'm still not back to normal from being sick. Gives me a good excuse to lay around reading.

The Count is: 16

Two Books In One Day

When I made my trip to Barnes yesterday, one of the first books I picked up was about Wyoming. I feel in love with the little bit of Wyoming I saw. I have never seen a state quite like it. Different landscapes, hills, rocks, mountains, flat areas. It felt like I could see to the end of the Earth. This is a true story. Photographer and write Shreve Stockton drove through Wyoming and fell in love with cowboy country. She loved the red dirt, the Big-Horn mountains and the wide open spaces. As soon as she could she moved the Wyoming. She met a cowboy, adopted a coyote pup, that is what the story is about. The story is about the bond Shreve works on the the coyote. Raising it, fighting for the alpha position in their relationship. The pictures of Wyoming are beautiful. The story is sweet. Would I have bought it if I had not just been to Wyoming? Not at all. The book started from daily e-mails to family, expanded to a blog, and just kept growing. It is a quick read. Interesting, unique story. I will rate this book a 4. I'm trying to find positive energy today. This book helped.
I finally finished listening to Women, Food, and God by Geneen Roth. It was on my ipod for vacation. I enjoyed this book. Now I wish I owned it. There are parts I would like to go back and read again. I would be listening and she would make a great point. It was too fast for me to write it down. It is not a weight loss book. It is a book about taking charge of an eating problem. A common sense approach to getting a handle on a weight problem. She kept saying it is not about the food. That is so true. This was not as satisfying as it should have been. If I could have put it on my e-reader, I would have. Then I could read it again. Highlight areas of interest. Instead I will wait for some downtown and listen to it. I am going to give this book a 3. I think it would have been higher if I read it.