This Post is About A) The Templeton Twins B) Wombly C) Down Unders E) All of the Above

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea (which is a book with its own tumbler) was an ARC I picked up at BEA. The main reason why I picked up this ARC is because it was put out by Chronicle Books. Chronicle Books is an awesome publishing company. They put out a lot of non-fiction books as well, such as a gorgeous book The Egyptian Book of the Dead, which was wonderful plates of the Papyrus of Ani. And when I say plates I don't mean dinner plates, but pictures. Beautiful, colorful, pictures of wonderfulness.

But. That is not the book I am going to talk about today. Today Wombly and I are going to tell you about a book that came out rather recently and it is all about The Templeton Twins Have an Idea.

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea was written by the Narrator, but a certain Ellis Weiner likes to have his name put on the book, which is a source of contention between the two. The book was illustrated by Jeremy Holmes, and I really do like his illustrations. I think they work well with the text that was written by Ellis Weiner. Ahem. I mean, written by the Narrator.

The story is about the Templeton Twins, surprise, surprise, and their father who is an inventor. The story begins:

A) Shortly after the death of the Templeton Twins' mother

B) With the arrival of a VERY TALL, VERY WIDE, iguana

C) After a long time of the Narrator trying to put off writing the story

D) Both A & C

If you guessed B, I am sorry to inform you there is no VERY TALL, VERY WIDE, iguana in this story. There is the sadness of a recently deceased mother, and there is the fact that the Narrator is desperately trying not to write this book. Because of one of these facts (probably the first) their father has become increasingly sad, so their father decides to:

A) Take a new position at a new college, where he will invent new things.

B) Lay down and take a nap.

C) Sell the Templeton Twins to an Arabian with camels.

 The answer, of course, has nothing to do with camels, nor with naps.

BUT alas! There is a STRANGE MAN at the new school that is ACCUSING the Templeton Twins' father of STEALING the STRANGE MAN'S ideas. What will occur next? Will the Templeton Twins:

A) Get abducted by the STRANGE MAN and his brother?

B) Get to eat ice cream until they puke?

C) Get watched over by a ridiculous nanny?

D) Both A & C

E) Who cares?

This book was highly amusing and I think it would be enjoyed by Down Unders who enjoyed reading:

A) A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket

B) The Name of This Book is Secret, by Pseudonymous Bosch

C) Other books that involve interesting inventions, smart Down Unders, and snarky Narrators.

D) All of the Above, Of Course.

Not only is this book a fun read with resourceful twins, it also includes a recipe for meatloaf. So what are you doing? Get up and get yourself a copy at either:

A) Barnes & Noble

B) Books-A-Million

C) An Indie Bookstore near you

Laydown Lowdown

The holiday shopping rush is in full swing and there are plenty of new releases to place under the tree this week!

First up in Young Adult comes a book that I'd like to see under my tree, "The Lucky Ones," the third and final entry in Anna Godbersen's "Bright Young Things" series.  I can't wait to find out how things work out for the bootlegger's daughter, the starlet, and the socialite in this series set in the Roaring 20's.  Other new releases in YA today include "Lullaby," by Amanda Hocking and "Fragile Darkness," by Ellie James.

Scoot on over to Science Fiction/Fantasy to find the latest novel in the "Dresden Files," series, "Cold Days," by Jim Butcher. "Steel's Edge," by Ilona Andrews,  "Bard's Oath," by Joanne Bertin, and "King of the Dead," by Joanne Nassie are also available today.

Merge towards the Mystery section for "Target Lancer," by Max Allan Collins, "Lethal Investments," by K.O. Dahl, "Not Quite Dead," by Eliot Pattison, and "Cold City," by F. Paul Wilson.

Race into the Romance section for the bind-up of "A Christmas Bride," and  "A Christmas Beau," by Mary Balogh as well as "Anything He Wants," by Sara Fawkes, "Kiss of Surrender," by Sandra Hill, and "Wild About You," by Kerrelyn Sparks.

Will any of these title make your wish lists?  Happy Reading and remember to support your local bookstores whenever possible.

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan

This morning I woke up with some kind of stomach bug.  I felt miserable and had to cancel the plans I had made for the day to stay in bed where I watched movies as I dozed in and out.  However I was blessed.  Why, you may wonder?  Because I knew that with a little rest, ginger ale, and TLC from my cat and my parents that I would be OK shortly.  Unfortunately there are many sick people out there with serious illnesses, some of them so rare that treatments or diagnoses may not be known.

Susannah Cahalan was one of these people.  In 2009 she was in her 20's and working for the New York Post when she began to feel not quite herself.  Her vague symptoms soon grew worse and worse as she began to have panic attacks, irrational fits, episodes of extreme paranoia, and ultimately seizures.  After one bad seizure she awoke in a New York City hospital and discovered that she had been there for one month with no recollection of her stay there or the seemingly manic and crazed behavior that kept here there.  The doctors tested her for a variety of ailments and diseases but were unable to find a diagnosis.  Her parents feared that their daughter may never recover and would spend the rest of her days in mental hospital.  Fortunately, a doctor they dubbed, "Dr. House," after the brilliant TV doctor stepped in at just the right moment.  Susannah was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease.  Susannah's memoir "Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness" describes her quest to discover what happened during her lost month and her grueling recovery process.

This was a fascinating and frightening read.  The memoir explains that the doctor's who treated Susannah believe that her condition may be the correct diagnosis for some individuals who are currently diagnosed with schizophrenia or other mental illnesses.  It's tragic to think how many people may be hospitalized and treated for an incorrect diagnosis.  When Susannah was diagnosed, she was only the 217th person to receive the diagnosis, today there are thousands of people who have received this diagnosis.  It makes you wonder how many other diseases and ailments there are that haven't been discovered or labeled yet. 

I highly recommend this memoir to everyone that loves not just medical stories but true stories of average people with the courage and determination to fight for their life over insurmountable odds.






For more information on Susannah or where to purchase her book, please visit your local bookstores and check out her website.

I would also like to thank the publisher, Free Press, for providing me with a review copy of the book in exchange for a free, honest review.

Fairy Interesting: OUAT "Into the Deep"

2.8 "Into the Deep"

Tonight in Alterna-fairy world Aurora grows a backbone and proves herself useful. When she's kidnapped Mulan proves herself to be just as annoying as ever, Snow has to re-enter the netherworld, and Emma has her turn to be the strong one full of faith that they can get home. Cora continues to show that the tree is a very short distance from its apple (okay, so that didn't really work, but go with it). She pulls all kinds of trickery we're used to seeing from Regina including the magic heart trick and raises an army of ... zombies? And of course, Hook keeps us guessing as usual.

Meanwhile in Storybrooke Henry is determined to become a hero, but when his first attempt fails David and Regina refuse to let him go back into the red room of flame. Working with Mr. Gold, David comes up with what might be one of the most ridiculous plots to date and puts himself into a sleeping curse with the hopes to reunite with Snow, give her the information to get back home, and hopefully receive the kiss of true love that will wake him back up again. Because that's not a plan with any holes in it. Regina continues her morph into mother of the year and we might actually be buying it this time.

Can I just say that I loved Cora's costuming this episode? That sparkly dress was pretty sweet and the parasol in the middle of the night? Perfect.

The Zombie army was over the top. My Dad called it like two episodes ago and Mom and I laughed him off. Guess who's laughing now. I'm just glad they figured in as little as they did.

Did anyone else notice that Snow was holding her side strangely in that first scene? I kept waiting for her to collapse with appendicitis or something.

It figures that I actually start to really enjoy Aurora as a character and then that has to go and happen. How much did I want to strangle Hook in that last scene. I can't even. Though, up until that point I was greatly enjoying his snarkery and palatable good looks.

However, I still want to smack Mulan into the next alternative reality. Why couldn't it have been her heart that got ripped out of her chest so it could be crushed to dust? Can someone feed her to a shark or something?

My big question is about that netherworld. Who or what is controlling it? The flames seemed to be controlled by some sort of malevolent force. The burns got worse the more Aurora and Henry tried to talk to each other. I know that the whirlwind was from Mulan waking Aurora up, but I am curious as to whether we will ever get any more information about what exactly the netherworld is. Rumple makes a bit of a big deal about it when he gives Henry the necklace in "Child of the Moon" - how it is very real and a place caught between life and death. It seems significant.

As an aside - when David Charming makes his speech about finding his wife I was like snap, but he's a very ... nice looking man. I swear his character gets better with every episode.

Having said that, I think his plan was one of the most idiotic things ever. I understand wanting to protect Henry, but for real? Intentionally putting yourself under a sleeping curse? No. Just plain stupid.

Especially once Gold explains that they have no way of knowing if he can find his way into the room or not. What if Charming hadn't been successful? They would never have known it and eventually Henry would have had to go back under himself, only this time without the pendant or his grandfather's support.

Also, they look super weird in the netherworld. Especially Charming.

Regina's moment with Henry was sweet. Combined with the scenes from last episode I'm starting to warm up to her. I still think that the transition was a little too sudden and I don't know as I will ever be able to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop, but we'll see :)

Ah! Next week is the winter finale and it looks so good!

Breaking Dawn: Part 2

It seemed like it was just a short time ago that I met up with Claire and Rebecca T. to see a little movie called, "Twilight."  The film, based on Stephanie Meyer's best-selling series went on to become a pop-culture phenomenon.  However, it's been a few years since then.  The fifth and final film, "Breaking Dawn: Part 2," was released last week soared to become the number one film last weekend.  Did the film live up the sales and the hype? 

Eileen: "Breaking Dawn: Part II was definitely the best of all the movies. I had higher hopes for this film than the others because it was my favorite part of the books, but i was definitely blown away. Kristen Stewart actually did well this time, and the twist at the end was perfect."

Grammy T: "I  thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Yes, I screamed at the appropriate times and my daughters laughed at me. I would go see it again . . . and probably scream again."

Jess B. "I thought it was the best movie out of all of them. The ending had me yelling at the screen. I think Jasmina, Joanna, and myself almost killed half the theater when it happened. Thank goodness for 81mg Aspirin or my heart condition may have actually taken me out. All in all I think it was very well put together, and to top it all off Kristen Stewart actually did a good job!" 

Rebecca: "I don't want to give anything away, but the twist toward the end blew my mind and I thought was really well executed. It was a fun movie and a good ending to the set. I think it was my favorite of them all so far!"

The twist near the end blew me away too!  I was enraged but then the twist made so much sense that I believe this film was better than the latter half of the novel which it is based on.  My favorite film in the "Twilight" series was "New Moon," but I loved this one.  Not only did it have action and romance, it also had humor.  The scene where Jacob reveals his secret to Charlie, will have  you laughing out loud.

Speaking of laughing out loud, Alan shared his summary of "Breaking Dawn: Part 2" with us. "These shiny guys continued getting in fights with these hairy guys over this morose chick that one of the shiny guys knocked up and stuff. And it snowed."




  
 As you can see, we all enjoyed "Breaking Dawn: Part 2."  Did you see it?  What did you think? 

Happy Thanksgiving from Wombly and the Booksellers

Wombly wishes you all a very Happy Thanksgiving

He and NaomiRuth went to visit Grandma for Thanksgiving Day, but they wanted to make sure they said hello to all the lovely Down Unders!

And to all our blog readers may you have a lovely day of family and friends and may you have many things to be thankful for!

Sister Writers and The Liar Society

I've been following the blog of sister writers Lisa & Laura Roecker (also known as LiLa to their friends) for a couple of years now. Their blog posts regularly make me laugh out loud (check out this post on Lisa's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and try not to snort laugh) and I've had the fun of getting to know them through back and forth comments and the occasional e-mail or two. So when their book The Liar Society was released I was so excited for them.

And even more excited to get my hands on the book and start reading it. But more on the books in a moment.

When I got an e-mail letting me know that the Roecker sisters were going to be part of a book tour and that their last stop was going to be in New York City I literally danced around the room, put it on my calendar, and started recruiting people to go with me.

Unfortunately, the day they were coming was the day when EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD PLANNED AN EVENT. So I ended up heading into the city alone. It's always more fun with other people, but I wasn't going to miss out on a chance to meet LiLa no matter what.

Of course, Sandy decided to mess up the train tracks, etc., but fortunately enough had gotten cleared that I was able to easily make it into Penn Station. Then I made the brilliant decision to save money and walk! It was only like 80 blocks. No biggie right? I enjoyed myself. I love walking through the city and I got to go through Time Square again and I got to see the Gray Papaya hot dog store where I had a small Fools Rush In/Matthew Perry geek out moment (if you haven't seen the movie, you should. It's one of my favorite chick flicks).

And I arrived so early at Bank Street Books. It is the most adorable children's book store I've ever been in. The people are super nice and I was so excited. I bought my books and then headed out to grab some lunch and rest my feet. When I came back I found out that I had just missed the group coming in and that they had gone to get lunch and would be back. So I settled into one of the window seats (yes, window seats - how adorable!) and read and waited.

About half an hour before the event was supposed to start, a group came up the stairs and was browsing through the bookshelves. I immediately wondered if it was LiLa and the other two authors, but I wasn't sure. So (no lie) I opened their book and looked surreptitiously at the author photo so I didn't make a fool of myself. I was sure it was them, so I walked up and kind of hesitantly asked (I am such a shy person in these kind of situations you have no idea) and it was and they were like Are you Rebecca? And I said I was and there might have been a little bit of squealing and there definitely was hugging and Janet Gurtler (one of the other lovely authors) said they had heard all about me and it totally made my entire week.

See... window seat in the background! Also me with Lisa and Laura

It was a pretty small gathering so I got to talk to Lisa and Laura and Janet for a little while. I told Janet that I had just read her book Who I Kissed in an hour and that I had cried the whole time. She got so excited and asked if she could hug me, which of course I answered yes.

Miranda Kenneally was the fourth author, but she had a band of teen girls who were the cutest fan mob to ever attack an author, so I didn't really get a chance to talk to her.

The event was fun with each author reading a snippet from their latest book and answering questions. Of course, I didn't take any pictures or notes because I was having so much fun just listening, but it was the best time ever.

LiLa's books are a lot of fun - mysteries with a solid dash of romance, humor, and friendship to mix it up. Kind of like a cross between Nancy Drew and Kate Brian's Private series with a Roecker twist.

Here are my non-spoilery reviews:

The Liar Society
Kate Lowry isn't dealing with the death of her best friend very well. It's been a year since the tragic accident and she's trying to live a normal life, but all that is shattered when she gets an e-mail from her best friend. Her dead best friend. With her geeky next door neighbor Seth and the mysterious Liam with a bad-boy reputation as her only allies, Kate has to unravel the mysteries of the e-mails and uncover the truth about Grace's death. But she finds herself caught up in a world of secrets, lies, and danger where someone else might just get hurt if she can't find the truth.

The Lies That Bind
Solving the mystery behind Grace's death didn't really change anything. Of course, now Kate has a boyfriend and a best friend who always have her back. Until she starts finding messages from Grace - the jacket that shows up in her car, the book that appears on her desk... it's starting to creep Kate out. When another girl disappears, Kate gets sucked back into the world of secret societies and mysteries she can't solve. As her own lies pile up Kate has to try to figure out who she can trust and who is only using her to further their own power and it's not as easy as it seems.

I can't wait for The Hush Fund due out in July!

Check out the website for more information and pick up these books at your local bookstore! They'd make a great Christmas gift for a teen in your life. Or for yourself!

Laydown Lowdown

Thanksgiving may be just a few days away but you won't be stuffing yourself with new books this weeks.  New releases are on the light side this week. 

However, there is a new release this week that I can't wait to get my hands on, "Notorious Nineteen," the latest Stephanie Plum adventure by Janet Evanovich.  After a few sluggish entries in the series, the action picked up in "Smokin' Seventeen," and "Explosive Eighteen."  I can't wait to see what's next for the goofy bounty hunter.  "Fox Tracks," by Rita Mae Brown and "Cat Bearing Gifts," by Shirley Rosseau Murphy is also available today. 

Over in Sci-Fi/Fantasy, you'll discover the latest "Fables," graphic novel, "Werewolves of the Heartland," by Bill Willingham plus "Love Star," by Andri Shaer Magnason.

Over in Romance, you'll find "Black Bandit," by Ruth Hughes, "Rogue Rider," by Larissa Ione, and "The Devil's Diadem," by Sara Douglas.

Finally, Young Adults and "Gleeks" of all ages will want to check out "Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journals," by Chris Colfer.  The "Glee" actor wrote the novel as well as the screenplay of the same name which is set to debut at the TriBeCa Film Festival in April 2013.

What books will make your reading list this week?  Happy Reading and remember to support your local book stores and merchants this Black Friday!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Give Thanks

There is just a few days left before Thanksgiving!  Are you ready?  I still haven't gotten the green beans for the casserole or more importantly the wine!  However, the most important part of the holiday is to remember to celebrate and be thankful for your blessings in life.  I polled the BWOBNY crew to see what they're most thankful for.

Albert is thankful "love."

Eileen gives thanks for her family, friends and her job, despite the crazy times there.  She is also thankful for books and her Borders family.

Jess B. is thankful for "her family, friends, and Gutenberg for inventing the printing press."

Jess P. gives thanks for her friends and family, especially her healthy baby girl.


Mallory is thankful for her family and friends.

Naomi reflected, "Is it bad that my first thought was not family and friends but, books and stuffed socks that look like wombats? I'm also grateful for my family and the friends that let me rub their heads and eat their chocolate. AND I'm grateful that I will finally graduate next January in the year 2014. Huzzah!"

Rachel gives thanks for "my family, the beard, Luna (my cat), cats in general, friends, and books!" 

Rebecca is thankful for her friends and family plus... "I'm also grateful for my jobs. Even if they drive me crazy at times, I love teaching and I love being able to work around books regularly and I love going to school full time. My life is full, but in a good way! And I'm grateful for the people that put up with my craziness."



Stacey gives thanks for "Love. My adorable nephew. Becoming closer with my sister this past year. And of course the freedom to read anything my special heart desires."

Finally, I'm thankful to be surrounded by my friends and family this Thanksgiving.  I'm grateful to be able to feast and watch Muppet movies with my grandparents again.  I'm also thankful for my adorable cat, and all my friends and family who have helped and supported my movie project, this blog, and my endless ideas." 




What about you guys?  What are you thankful for?  Please share with us.  Happy Thanksgiving!

 

What are Comfort Quilts?

I had no idea what a comfort quilt was before I read The Giving Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini. I also did not know quilters are so passionate about quilting! This new book, released October 30th, is an Elm Creek Quilts novel. And it has inspired me with a desire to read the other books in this series.

I chose this book, not because I am an avid quilter, but because the title intrigued me. I was not immediately drawn in because the initial few pages seemed to be awkward as the sentences were too long and complicated. But I persevered and I am glad I did. The author skillfully interweaves the stories of multiple quilters who attend an annual retreat to make quilts for a children's charity. She reveals their struggles, their friendships and their passions for quilting.

I never realized there were quilting guilds, quilting retreats and multiple charities for which quilters make quilts. You do not need to understand quilting in order to enjoy this book. It had me laughing and crying as I felt a part of the lives of the ladies attending the "Quiltsgiving Retreat". There they made comfort quilts, which are quilts made to give to charity organizations. So now you know what a comfort quilt is. If I was a quilter, I would thoroughly enjoy making one to give away.

I would highly recommend this book. It is a good way to start off the Thanksgiving season.  So head to your local brick and mortar bookstoor and pick up a copy.

Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Laydown Lowdown

Sorry for the delay on today's Laydown Lowdown folks but a migraine was kicking my butt,or head!  Now without further adieu, here are today's new releases.

In Mystery/Thriller, you'll find the latest from bestselling author Vince Flynn, "The Last Man," as well as "Edge of Black," by J.T. Ellison and "A Death in the Small Hours," by Charles Finch.  Plus, Mr. Too Cool for Tuesday release dates, aka James Patterson, released his "Merry Christmas, Alex Cross," yesterday.

Romance lovers will want to look for "The Defender," by Lindsay McKenna, "Forever Love," by Celeste Norfleet, " and "Daughter of the Spellcaster," by Maggie Shayne today.

Young Adults and those young at heart will want to check out "Reached," the third novel in Ally Condie's "Matched" trilogy as well as "Echo," by Alyson Noel, "Witch World," by Christopher Pike and "Black City," by Elizabeth Richards.  Plus, kids of all ages may enjoy, "The Third Wheel," the 7th "Wimpy Kid," book by Jeff Kinney. 


















Finally, in Science Fiction/Fantasy, you'll see "Red Country," by Joe Abercrombie, "Errantry: Strange Stories," by Elizabeth Hand, "Star Wars: The Old Repbublic: Annihilation," by Drew Karpyshyn, and "The Inexplicables," by Cherie Priest.

And those are your new releases for this week.  As the holiday season draws near, please remember to support your local retailers, especially bookstores, whenever possible.  Happy Reading!

Fairy Interesting: OUAT "Child of the Moon"

2.7 "Child of the Moon"

Tonight in Storybrooke Ruby has to confront the first full moon since the curse has broken. Her magic red suppressant cloak is missing and she's terrified of killing someone else she loves. After she breaks out of the makeshift freezer cell and her new romantic interest shows up brutally murdered, she fears the worst. David Charming continues to grow on me moving from one of my least favorite characters last season to one of my favorites, and we get another glimpse of Belle, surrounded by her books. Henry's nightmares are getting worse, so Mr. Gold gives him a magic necklace free of charge and Regina is actually acting like a good mother figure.

In flashback Fairy World Red finds that Granny lied to her when she discovers a pack of werewolves led by her ... mother. But when she's forced to choose between her mother and Snow, Red has a difficult choice to make.

And in the tiniest glimpse of Alterna Fairy World Aurora sees Henry in her fiery nightmare as he puts out the flames with the magic necklace.


Now that I'm getting used to the new format I'm handling the focus on one story line at a time a lot better. I also think that the writers are beginning to handle the juggling a lot better as well.

First can I just say that Gus/Billy was the cutest thing of ever, though I wish he'd been a little pudgier, like the mouse. And Ruby's total skittishness was so sad as you could just see her fear and pain of losing another "Peter" in her eyes. And of course, then it happens. It was incredibly cruel of the writers to kill off Gus-Gus so quickly! So not nice.

(Sidenote: Peter and the wolf? I know people pointed this out last season, but still HAHAHA)

I love the Snow White/Rose Red angle that they play with this as well - a little subtler fairy tale humor (and completely un-Disney related :)

When Snow stopped to look at her wanted poster all I could think was Eugene from Tangled because that really didn't look anything like her!

I wasn't really sure why Red took off her cloak to wash her face. It felt a little bit like a plot pusher, but you know. Also, Quinn was a total jerk face. I was definitely not upset when he died. Ahem.

Wasn't surprised to find out that the pack leader was Red's mother, but I didn't really buy her story that Granny just stole Red. She's had all this time, but she waits until now to get Red's attention? I felt something not quite right with her explanation.


And was it just me, or did it seem WAY too easy to kill a werewolf. Maybe I'm just tainted by other werewolfy stuff I've read and seen, but a simple arrow to the chest? Shouldn't it have been more complicated?

I also wasn't really surprised when she wanted Red to turn on Snow. However, the anti-human sentiment was nicely played all the way around. I loved that last scene with Snow and Red where Red realizes that she has to be "both" the wolf and the human (which plays in nicely with the fairy tale/modern dichotomy as well) and the look of pure joy on Ruby's face when she hands David the cloak was wonderful.

Speaking of David. He is absolutely adorable, especially in his dealings with Henry. And I find it interesting that he trusts Regina enough with Henry's welfare to call her when he needs to leave.

I think I'm just having a hard time seeing her as anything but pure evil after the complete villainization the writers did with her character last season. I know we got some glimpses of who she used to be, but honestly, the change in her has been a little too drastic a little too quickly for me to really buy it. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But back to David - his handling of Ruby was so sweet and he plays the earnest sweetness of "Prince Charming" so believably. It could come off as a little too much, but he pulls it off perfectly. He's also got a great strength as well. He's got the backbone he never really had when he was David and even when he was Charming. Widmore--I mean Spencer has no idea who he's dealing with now.


In his plain clothes I still totally think Widmore. So much so that I couldn't even remember the king's real name. I was thinking King Charles, but then I realized that's Widmore again. So King George is totally skeevy. And way out of control. When he was rallying that mob I was like, what are you? Gaston going after the beast? Really?

I really suspected Spencer/King George from the beginning, but not in any conscious way. But I knew where it was going as soon as they got to the car. Definitely a long way to go to set up the sherriff. His rage seems a little blown out of proportion, but I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something from last season.

So if he burned the hat, doesn't that mean Jefferson needs to start from scratch? I totally believe he could do it, especially now that he has Grace back! (of course, I just want him back on the tv please)

I wonder if there's some sort of spell around Henry to make everyone be totally nice to him. I would love to think that Mr. Gold is doing this out of the goodness of his heart, but somehow I feel like something's off. I'm not usually so cynical when it comes to people's motives! Of course, if the necklace and the dreams are the key to opening up new portals, then Gold could be using Henry to figure out a way to open a portal so he can go back to whatever he was doing before (when Jefferson was collecting portal makers for him). I definitely feel like he has a much bigger endgame in sight and I'm excited to see where it all leads.

I can't believe we have to wait 2 whole weeks! Gah!

Remember

This year, Veterans Day is a little more poignant for me. My brother-in-law is in the Air National Guard and he is currently deployed to the city to help with the disaster relief for Sandy. He is proud to serve his country even though it means time away from his family. I am very proud of him and very grateful to all of the men and women who have served and continue to serve to protect our country and preserve our freedoms.

October Book Club: Blink of an Eye by Ted Dekker

This post is a little late in two ways :) It was supposed to go up last week, but with our good ol' pal Sandy cutting power and internet it made things challenging. Fortunately we were quite blessed in the lack of serious damage and our hearts go out to those that are still dealing with losses.

It's also late in the day today because I had a chance to go down to Bank Street Books in NYC today for the Get Real book tour where I finally got to meet the fabulous sister writers Lisa & Laura Roecker. They are super cool and amazing and hilarious and there may possibly have been squealing and hugging. I admit to nothing.

But more on that for my monthly post on the 21st (teaser! mwa haha!)

So here's the synopsis for our book club choice of the month (courtesy of GoodReads as my brain is currently moosh)

" The future changes in the BLINK of an eye...or does it?

Seth Borders isn't your average graduate student. For starters, he has one of the world's highest IQs. Now he's suddenly struck by an incredible power--the ability to see multiple potential futures.

Still reeling from this inexplicable gift, Seth stumbles upon a beautiful woman named Miriam. Unknown to Seth, Miriam is a Saudi Arabian princess who has fled her veiled existence to escape a forced marriage of unimaginable consequences. Cultures collide as they're thrown together and forced to run from an unstoppable force determined to kidnap or kill Miriam.

Seth's mysterious ability helps them avoid capture once, then twice. But with no sleep, a fugitive princess by his side, hit men a heartbeat away, and a massive manhunt steadily closing in, evasion becomes impossible."

Want to own it?

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We don't support any particular store, but we do ask you to support your local brick and mortars. You might pay a little more than you would online, but you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you're supporting the stores and all their lovely employees :D

What we thought:

Jenn N.: Blink of an Eye was an excellent read. It was different from what I would normally pick up, however, it was really interesting. Dekker does a fantastic job of sucking you right into the action. you'll empathize with Miriam's plight and wonder how many women suffered like she did. The book also presented an intriguing look into the Muslim religion and culture.

Eileen: I must echo Jenn and say that Dekker does an excellent job of sucking you right into the action. You almost instantly sympathize with both main characters. Arranged marriages, secret love, psychic abilities, and world politics somehow draw together these two people who may not have met otherwise. That combined with a believable story gave this thriller a permanent home on my bookshelf.

Rebecca T: I had read this before, but when I picked it up to read for book club I found myself completely engrossed in the story and read it in one afternoon. As Jenn and Eileen said, the characters are immediately sympathetic and believable. They are both strong characters in different ways and in the middle of what seems to be an impossible situation on so many levels, they find friendship and even love. An adventure story with elements of paranormal, spiritual, suspense, mystery, and romance this book should appeal to a wide audience.

Next month we're reading The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair. I love finding out about new books and authors by sharing books with each other at book club! See you then :)