Darlene Myers

  Summer is finally here!  It was a long winter, and I do mean a lo-o-o-o-ng one.  With about 400 cms of snow this past winter, everyone looks forward to Summer.  As short as they are, they sure are appreciated.

I love Summer for several reasons.  Barbecues, glasses of wine on the patio, and it doesn’t get dark until 9:30 p.m. or so.  One of my favorite Summer past-times is reading.  Here are some of the books I have been reading on the patio.

   Fugitive by Phillip Margolin – a great page turner.  Phillip Margolin is one of my favorite writers.  He writes ‘can’t put it down’ type of books, and this story is no different.

  Another Phillip Margolin book.  This was I liked even better than Fugitive.  A word of advice.  Dont start this book if you have any plans for the day.   This book and Harlan Coben’s books make it to the top of the list as my all time favorites.

  This was a good book, however, highly disturbing.  It was the second one of Lisa Gardner’s I managed to finish.  I find some of her books start strong but fizzle out.  Like I said, disturbing, but it kept me interested throughout the entire book.

Some of my books that I have yet to read are ‘Salem Falls’ by Jodi Picoult, Julie Garwood’s ‘Shadow Dance’, Stuart Woods “Santa Fe Dead’, Mary Higgins Clark ‘The Cradle Will Fall’ and Tess Geritsen ‘Gravity’.

What good books have you read lately?

Darlene

If you read one book this year, please let it be ‘Showing Up for Life – Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime” by Bill Gates Sr.  In the book, his famous son, the more well-known Bill Gates said this “Dad, the next time somebody asks if you’re the real Bill Gates, I hope you say , “Yes”.  I hope you tell them that you’re all the things the other one strives to be”

This has been my “Wow” book!   In this book, Bill Gates Sr. talks about showing up for life… being there, volunteering.  He talks about hard work,  and radical generosity.    Bill Gates Sr.  is 83 years old, and says he is priviledged to be representing and running the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  He says he never imagined he would be working this late in life, or that he would be enjoying it so much.   He says he gets up early every morning because ‘he enjoys it’, and he thinks it suits him much better than lying on a beach. 

As you may be aware, the work that Bill and Melinda Gates have done has garnered them the Time Magazine ‘Persons of the Year Award’, sharing the award with Bono in 2005.   Read about the fantastic work these three people do in this article. 

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1142278,00.html

But first, pick up this book by Bill Gates Sr.  It will move you.  And hopefully, it will inspire you to get out and do a little bit of volunteer work or just to ‘show up’ for the people you love.  Tom Brokaw called the book a “Gift of Great Value”.  I couldn’t agree more.   That’s enough reason to say ‘Thank you Mr. Gates for writing this book”.  I loved it.  I want to do more.

Enjoy

Darlene

A Year Without ‘Made In China’ – One Family’s  True Life Adventure in the Global Economy, is a book by Sara Bongiorni that was an eye-opener for me!  Sara and her family kick start 2005 with a New Year’s resolution not to buy anything made in China.  She called it a fascinating and frustrating journey and the book takes us along on the journey.

I love this book.  Sara Bongiorni is a wife and mother of 2 children.  Imagine trying to find toys for the kids and boycotting China at the same time.  If you start looking around your home right now, it will scare you the amount of products that have come from China.  

Think about it.  Mattel has recalled toys made in China because they were unsafe, infant milk formula made in China has been recalled because of taining with chemicals, candy has been recalled because Melamine has been found, and who can forget that Walmart had to pull pet food made in China.

Oh, and by the way, while other nations were boycotting products made in China, Canada was trying to convince its people that products made in China are safe!  Yet do you know anyone that pays attention to the ‘Made in China’ products.  I have one friend, Judy, who has been boycotting China made products for about a year.  We call ourselves a safety conscious society but yet parents still line up at Wal-Mart to buy everything from pet food to children’s toys… In this age of information and fast-paced technology, have we not learned anything if we are willing to put our loved ones at risk to save 10-cents?

Food for thought!  (Is the food made in China though?)  Buy this book!

Darlene

As you are aware if you read my blog, I have been travelling for work quite frequently.  There fore, between planes and hotel rooms, I have been doing a fair bit of reading.  I wanted to pass along some of my favorites from the past two months.

The Moonlit Cage – by Linda Holeman.  I loved this book.  It’s a story that grabs you, and you feel like you personally know this woman.  I first read ‘The Linnet Bird’ by Linda Holeman and loved it enough to pick up this one.  The Moonlit cage is one of my new favorites.  It is the story of Darya, an Afghan woman and the tragedies she has endured and the courage she has to break the bonds of what can only be called Slavery!  She breaks free of a life that included torture, abuse and how Afghan women are considered second class citizens.  Pick it up.

Dark Summer – by Iris Johansen.  I have read most of Iris Johansen’s books, except for the real early romancey stuff.  This is a thriller, that once you read the first page, kiss your family goodbye for the day, cause you ain’t going to be able to put it down.  I love a good thriller, and this book doesn’t disappoint.

Sail – James Patterson.  This was one of my favorites from James Patterson.  I know, once you’ve read 40 of his books, sometimes you can get a little… what’s the word I’m looking for… bored, but not bored.  Anyway, like I said, one of my favorites, and I have read all of James Patterson books.  I enjoy them, and I love the short chapters.  This is the story of the Dunne family and how they set sail on a boat to take a vacation and try to mend the family.  It turns into a life lesson as they are faced with danger.  I wont’ ruin the book for you. 

Love to hear what your favorites are!  Still read alot so bring them on.

Darlene

I just finished Breaking Dawn, the 4th in the Twilight Series.  I loved this book, much better than I liked Eclipse.  As soon as I read Twilight, I got New Moon and Eclipse.  I wasn’t sure how I felt about the direction the Eclipse book had taken with Jacob and Bella’s “friendship”, it was a little too ‘close’, if you know what I mean.

(Stop reading now if you haven’t read this book yet)

So when I got the 750 page Breaking Dawn, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it, but enjoy it I did.  I liked reading about Bella becoming a vampire, and even though I don’t thoroughly understand the ‘imprinting’ of Jacob to Renesmee, I thought Stephanie Meyer did a good job of keeping it within the lines.  I know it got some negative reviews, but I enjoyed the final book.  I liked how the book was split up between Bella’s view and Jacob’s view,  and the friendship that came between these werewolves and the vampires.  I liked it.  And for the most part I liked the series.

The Twilight DVD was released on Saturday, March 21st, but I haven’t been able to find one yet to buy.  All sold out.  However, I will own it, after seeing it in the theatre and loving it.   I am looking forward to the next movies as well.

The book I’m reading now….. ‘Dream of my Father’, Barack Obama’s first book.  I’ll keep you up to date.

Darlene