Quote I read today

“Librarians, like ministers of religion, and poets, and people with serious mental health disorders, can make people nervous. Librarians possess a kind of occult power, an aura. They [can] silence people with just a glance.” Ian Sanson / THE BOOK STOPS HERE

Anne Perry

I have now completed 10 books in my effort to re-read all the Anne Perry "Inspector Monk" books.  The one I finished last night is The Silent Cry.   Hester is nursing a young man, Rhys Duff, who was badly beaten in the slums of London.  Rhys can no longer speak and his father was murdered in that same beating event.  What is going on here?  Why are these gentlemen hanging around the slums and who is responsible for the random beatings and rapes of women in these areas?  Will street justice be meted out, or will Monk find enough information to bring a case to court?  Did Rhys murder his own father?  What is the secret that is keeping Rhys from talking?

On the Lighter Side

I just took some time to read two books that came about as a result of the popularity of their blogs:  How to Take Over teh Wurld  and Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Hilariously Wrong by Jen Yates.  The first book is based on the LOLCAT blog I Can Has Cheezburger (http://icanhascheezburger.com/) and the second is from the blog Cake Wrecks (http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/)

How to Take Over teh Wurld is cute, but Cake Wrecks had me laughing so hard I was in tears.  Good choices for a few minutes of relaxation.

The Desert?

I remember back 11 or 12 years ago when I first returned to church.  Everything was so new and exciting.    Each religious event or prayer was such a spiritual high.

Now, I am dry and absent.  I still attend all the services, but I cannot recapture the feeling.  I know that is normal, but it is difficult.

I want that excitement again, that feeling of being close to God.

The Myers-Briggs test

When was the last time you did the Myers-Briggs test?  My results seem to change slightly when I take the test.  Partly I want to answer in ways that show me as an introvert, and yet I can be an extrovert if the situation warrants it.  I just took it again today and I am (today) ISFJ.  What are you? 

See the test and read your results here:  http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

The Twisted Root

I just finished listening to The Twisted Root by Anne Perry.  It is another in the series of Detective William Monk mysteries.  Two women are accused of conspiracy and murder in the deaths of a coachman and the mother of the fiancé of one of the women.   Was the older woman being blackmailed for the theft of medicines from the hospital?  Was the younger one also being blackmailed?  What was the truth about the younger woman's mysterious past?  What happened to her baby and who was the father? 

This book has a wicked and unexpected twist to the tale.

A Departure from My Reading of Murder Mysteries

I just finished reading The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A. J. Jacobs.  A. J. Jacobs made the decision in his self-admitted obsessive-compulsive way that he would follow all the rules of the Bible for one year.  It is a fascinating and humorous look at our beliefs.  Another fun aspect of the book is the way his long-suffering wife puts up with his antics.  It is interesting to watch an avowed agnostic discover a belief in God and return to his own religious roots.  I read The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by him last year and decided he was worth reading.

I just put his other book The Know It All on hold.  He's worth it!

Another Lovejoy Mystery

I just finished Firefly Gadroon.  Lovejoy is forced into finding and rescuing a cache of stolen antiques in the North Sea before they are shipped off to Europe.  Will he succeed?  Can he rescue these prizes?  Would he give them to their rightful owners?  Can he manage all this, save his skin, and avoid killing the bad guys? Oh, and what is a gadroon, anyway?

Sandra Cisneros

WOW!  I just read The House on Mango Street.  It is considered a teen book, but I would certainly not limit it to teens.  Sandra Cisneros tells a story in a series of vignettes of growing up Latina in Chicago.  I want to go and read everything she has written.  I will look into what the library owns and see what will be next.  I put a hold on Caramelo and on Woman Hollering Creek.  The other things she has are poetry and I do not know if I am ready for poetry at this time.

The Vatican Rip

I just finished The Vatican Rip by Jonathan Gash. Lovejoy is blackmailed into stealing a valuable antique from the Vatican museum. A good book, but a bit more confusing than his others. I am still waiting for a copy of his book The Spend Game to arrive. I skipped it for this title.

Now I have to work on homework. To begin with I have to compare the second week Ignatian Spiritual Exercise on The Kingdom, with the exercise The Two Standards. There is a whole bunch more, but I take it one piece at a time.

More Murder and Mayhem

I just finished reading The Merry Wives of Maggody by Joan Hess, an "Arly Hanks" mystery. These take place in the inbred town of Maggody, Arkansas. To get a true picture of the relationships among the characters you really have to start with Malice in Maggody. The cast of characters can get confusing when Mrs. Jim Bob Buchanon, aka Barbara Jean Buchanon Buchanon and others are interrelated.

Simon's Cat

One of my favorite internet videos is the cartoon "Cat Man Do." Now, Simon Tofield has his own website with several Simon's cat videos. Check it out. http://www.simonscat.com/index.html

Murder in the Highlands

If you feel like reading a cozy mystery, take a look at the Hamish Macbeth series by M. C. Beaton. The latest is Death of a Valentine. I finished this one the other day and it was just as lovely and mindless as all the rest. They are worth reading for your entertainment. The victim is never anyone you care about, the criminal is always an outsider or no one you have become familiar with in any other books in the series, there's never any blood and guts to wade through. If you feel like some fun, start with the first in the series Death of a Gossip.

I Love to Read

In case you hadn't noticed, I love to read. I just finished Weighed in the Balance by Anne Perry and Silencer by James W. Hall. The Anne Perry is another book in the Inspector Monk series of detective fiction. I still have quite a few to go before I re-read or listen to them all.

Silencer is a book in a series about a guy named Thorn. I used to read these and saw the new one and figured it was time to read another one. Now I am not so sure. It was much grittier than the reading I currently do. I was almost afraid of having nightmares because the bad guys were so evil.