Where Is Your Bookmark? (09/15/2015)

This past week was quite fun. We had been planning a mini vacation for months now, with plans to put our annual passes to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure to good use for at least a couple of those days. My husband surprised me with reservations at a nearby hotel room so we wouldn't have to make the trek home late at night and could be right at the gate when the park opened the next day. My daughter was ecstatic to say the least. We chose two of the hottest days of the summer to spend at the park. Over a hundred degrees with a thunderstorm overhead that first day. The second day was just plain humid and hot, still over a hundred degrees out. The crowds were not too bad, however, which was nice. We snuck back for one ride the day we headed home. The Haunted Mansion had been closed for revisions the two days we were at the park, and we didn't want to leave without being able to ride it. It's all dressed up for Halloween and Christmas now.

 Mouse Twirling with Princess Ariel

Paradise Pier at Disney's California Adventure

Saturday saw the beginning of Mouse's new Tumble and Dance class.  Two of her school friends are also in the class with her. The girls had a fun time.

Parker got his staples taken out last week, and has been doing well since his surgery. The tumor was cancerous, but the doctor believes she was able to remove it all. I was told the likelihood of recurrence is high given the type of tumor it was. We'll be keeping a close eye on him from here on out and rushing him in if he develops even a tiny bump.  Poor kitty. He is eating and getting around like his old self, although wishing we would hurry up and take the cone off him.

At the moment, I am reading the third book in Vonnie Davis' Highlander's Beloved Series, Bearing It All, which features the third Matheson brother, Ronan. The novel opened with a bang when the main female character parachutes from a drone, landing on top of Ronan in his bear form (he's a shapeshifter like his brothers).

I am also reading The Other Daughter by Lauren Willig, which was a gift from my daughter. As my husband explains it, he asked Mouse if she had any ideas about what she wanted to get me for my birthday last week. She said she wanted to get me a "real" book (not an e-book, in other words), with no pictures, and that had blue in the cover (my current favorite color). My husband proceeded to go to my wish list on Amazon and found Lauren Willig's The Other Daughter, a book recommended by Katherine from I Wish I Lived in a Library. My husband picked the book, in part, because he thought it held a sort of irony given the subject matter and who it was from. Set in Post World War I England, this is the story of a governess who learns her childhood was built on a foundation of lies, her father not truly being dead, and her parents not ever having married. He, in fact, had been married to someone else and fathered another child.

First Paragraphs of The Other Daughter:

"Can we go look, can we go look, can we go look?" Eight-year-old Amelie tugged at Rachel's hand, pulling her toward the stairs.

"I don't see what the point is of looking at a party you can't go to," said thirteen-year-old Albertine crossly.

Teaser from page 22: 

"You're not dying of some terrible disease, are you?"

Alice looked at her in confusion. "No. Why?"

"I was trying to think what the third blow might be. That's only two so far. Troubles are meant to come in threes." Her voice was too fast and too high. Rachel took a deep breath and reached for another broken biscuit. "It's an inalterable law of nature. Isn't that whay Mrs. Spicer always said?"

What do you think? Would you keep reading?  

What are you reading at the moment?  Is it anything you would recommend?

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at Broke and Bookish.

This week's  Top Ten Tuesday theme is a freebie, and so I chose Top Ten Books I Just HAD To Buy... But Are Still Sitting On My Bookshelf Unread. I am ashamed to say I have many more than just these ten books on my shelves yet to read that have been languishing there for years. Many more, in fact. The covers are linked to the Goodreads pages for each book if you want to know more about them.

1.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ~ I bought a copy of this book immediately upon finishing the author's Half a Yellow Sun, which I loved. If this is half as good as the other, it will be amazing. So why am I waiting?

 2.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen ~ I know I will love this book when I do read it. At least I hope I will.  I have no excuse for not having read it yet. It's not even very long.

3.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen ~ I bought this book  knowing I would read it. I loved the other books by Jane Austen I have read. Then why haven't I read this one yet?

4.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett ~ This was the talk of the town when it first came out, and I knew I just had to read it too. It's extremely short, and I could probably finish it in no time.  And yet, there it sits . . .

5.

The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George ~ A former coworker was a fan of Margaret George's books and recommended her to me. She suggested I start with The Memoirs of Cleopatra, which I bought, but never got around to reading. At nearly 1000 pages in length, the book is a bit intimidating.

6.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris ~ This book comes highly recommended, and then after hearing the author speak on a panel at  a book festival one year, I decided I needed to read it (and everything else she has written). I own several of her books, including this one. I still haven't read it (or her other books).

7.

The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb ~ I was very excited about reading this series, especially given how highly recommended it came by friends. Then my husband read it and didn't care for it. It shouldn't bother me. There are plenty of books I love that he doesn't care for. Still, it has kept me from pulling this off my shelf to read.

8.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini ~ The Kite Runner is one of my all time favorite books to read and I know I will love this one just as much, if not more. I just know it.  Is that why I haven't read it yet?  Or is it fear of disappointment because my expectations are too high?

9.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami ~ I think my failure to pull this off my TBR shelf and read it has more to do with the intimidation factor. I was eager to read it when I first heard about it, but the more I heard about it, the more I began to wonder if it is something I would like.  What if it's way over my head?

10.

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani ~ I haven't always wanted to read this book and series, but enough people talked it up that I decided I might as well give it a try. It has survived two major book cullings, so obviously I am still interested in reading it.  Someday.

What books did you just have to buy and yet still haven't managed to read?

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