8. Cut and Thirst by Margaret Atwood

listened on Audible

35 pgs.

2024
Adult contemporary short story
Finished 2/8/2025
Goodreads rating: 3.13
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary Canada

My comments: A short story set in Canada (that's where the author resides) about three older women who have been friends and colleagues for years.   The decide they must find a way to get revenge on a very disliked (male) member of their university literary community for doing something very mean to a fourth friend, Fern,  who is now declining rapidly and they blame it on this past altercation.  Their reminiscing, thoughts on getting older, and plans for murder (lol) are quite entertaining!  I kept wondering how they'd end the story....that seems to be my problem about reading short stories....but I was not disappointed.  I enjoyed this one.

Goodreads synopsis:  Three women scheme to avenge an old friend in a darkly witty short story about loyalty, ambition, and delicious retribution by Margaret Atwood, the #1 bestselling author of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Myrna, Leonie, and Chrissy meet every Thursday to sample fine cheeses, to reminisce about their former lives as professors, and lately, to muse about murder. Decades ago, a vicious cabal of male poets contrived—quite publicly and successfully—to undermine the writing career, confidence, and health of their dear friend Fern. Now, after Fern has taken a turn for the worse, her three old friends decide that it’s finally time to strike back—in secret, of course, since Fern is far too gentle to approve of a vendetta. All they need is a plan with suitably Shakespearean drama. But as sweet and satisfying as revenge can be, it’s not always so cut and dried.

74. The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

listened on Libby when I FINALLY got it from TPPL

336 pgs.

2024
Adult RomCom
Finished 10/6/24
Goodreads rating: 4.14
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary LA (with some Houston)

My comments: I love Katherin Center's writing.  And this novel about writers writing together is a winner for me!  A completely clean romance with ups and downs and two funny, clever protagonists is a surefire hit.  Highly recommend for a feel-good story with an HEA.

Goodreads synopsis:  She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?

24. FInlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

(#2 Finlay Donovan)

listened on Libby - borrowed from library

2022
357 pgs.
Adult Humorous Mystery
Finished 4/6/23
Goodreads rating: 4.02
My rating: 3.5

My comments:  A continuation of book #1, Finlay and Vero attempt to track down whoever it is that is trying to murder her ex-husband Steven.  Another comedy of errors with two love interests, and quite ridiculous escapades by the two women.  Once again it reminds me so incredibly of Stephanie Plum and her antics, which I tired of rather easily.  It looks like there's going to be a number three where they have to track down the still unknown assassin because the bad BAD guy has a lot to hold over Finlay's head.

Goodreads synopsis:  Finlay Donovan is―once again―struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she's dealt with lately is that of her daughter's pet goldfish.

On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he's a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of hit-women disguised as soccer moms, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she'd like.

Meanwhile, Vero's keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay's first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes... and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.

With her next book's deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn't a noose at the end of it...

73. Christmas Every Day by Beth Moran

listened on Audible

2019
408 pgs.
Adult (British) Romance
Finished 12/2/2022
Goodreads rating: 4.05
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary British small town

My comments: Not actually a Christmas story.  Filled with hilarious situations, but balanced out with some serious ones, too.  Set in a small, friendly British village, a very enjoyable read/listen.

Goodreads synopsis:  When Jenny inherits her estranged grandmother’s cottage in Sherwood Forest, she has nothing to lose - no money, no job, no friends, no family to speak of, and zero self-respect. Things can only get better...

Her grumpy, but decidedly handsome new neighbour, Mack, has a habit of bestowing unsolicited good deeds on her. And when Jenny is welcomed into a rather unusual book club, life seems to finally be getting more interesting.

Instead of reading, the members pledge to complete individual challenges before Christmas: from finding new love, learning to bake, to completing a daredevil bucket list. Jenny can’t resist joining in, and soon a year of friendship and laughter, tears and regrets unfolds in the most unexpected ways.

Warm, wise, funny and utterly uplifting, what one thing would you change in your life before Christmas comes around?

23. My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

listened to eAudio/Bosler Library
narrated by Shayna Thibodeaux and Deacon Lee
Unabridged audio (7:08)
2018 Gallery Books
384 pgs.
Adult Romance
Finished 2/3/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.83 - 22,195 ratings
My rating:
Setting: Contemporary Santa Barbara, California

First line/s:   "When I was in grade school, my best friend, Alison Kim, was obsessed with horses."

My comments:  Very enjoyable romantic comedy with some serious stuff, too...  Five college professors at University of California Santa Barbara are best friends - four males and one female.  What happens when two of them take it a little bit farther?  Throw in escapades with online dating, California vineyards, misunderstandings, and a teeny tiny bit of steam and you have this very enjoyable story.  I'm really beginning to like this author a lot.  She even used the word CACOPHONY!!!

Goodreads synopsis:  Millie Morris has always been one of the guys. A UC Santa Barbara professor, she’s a female-serial-killer expert who’s quick with a deflection joke and terrible at getting personal. And she, just like her four best guy friends and fellow professors, is perma-single.
          So when a routine university function turns into a black tie gala, Mille and her circle make a pact that they’ll join an online dating service to find plus-ones for the event. There’s only one hitch: after making the pact, Millie and one of the guys, Reid Campbell, secretly spend the sexiest half-night of their lives together, but mutually decide the friendship would be better off strictly platonic.
          But online dating isn’t for the faint of heart. While the guys are inundated with quality matches and potential dates, Millie’s first profile attempt garners nothing but dick pics and creepers. Enter “Catherine”—Millie’s fictional profile persona, in whose make-believe shoes she can be more vulnerable than she’s ever been in person. Soon “Catherine” and Reid strike up a digital pen-pal-ship...but Millie can’t resist temptation in real life, either. Soon, Millie will have to face her worst fear—intimacy—or risk losing her best friend, forever.

120. Running from A Rock Star by Jami Albright

listened on Audible
narrated  by Jennifer Grace
Unabridged audio (9:45)
2017, Jami Albright
290 pgs.
Adult Romance, with steam
Finished 12/3/2019
Goodreads rating: 4.20 - 3076 ratings
My rating: 3
Setting: contemporary - mostly Texas

First line/s:  "Light seared through Scarlett Kelly's eyelids.  She buried her face in the cool pillow to block the glare, but even that slight movement caused an explosion of agony.  Pain and nausea crashed into her like a train on fire."

My comments: Adjectives for this book:  stupid, sweet, over-the-top-funny, stereotypical, cute, ridiculous, eye-rolling, and entertaining.  A little too "Texan," interesting settings in Las Vegas and on the southern California coastline, as well as Texas.  A fun listen.

Goodreads synopsis:  She’s a good-girl control freak. He’s a bad boy in need of a clean image. Will these opposites attract or self-destruct?        
          Scarlett Kelly is the poster child for responsible living. Growing up as the daughter of the town floozy she’s made it her mission to be the exact opposite. So when she wakes up naked and hungover in bed with a bad-boy rockstar, Scarlett bolts immediately. But she never expected him to follow her home… and tell her they’re married!
           Gavin needs to repair his image or his music career will go down the tubes. He’s also just learned he has a son he never knew existed! Gavin wants to settle down, and bribing his new wife to stay married may just fit everything into place.
          Scarlett agrees to the ruse to help her family’s financial troubles even though she can hardly control herself around the rock star. As they search for Gavin’s son, will the cross-country adventure give them exactly what they’ve been missing or send them packing?
          Running From a Rock Star is the first book in a series of comedic contemporary romance novels. If you like zany characters, razor-sharp wit, and unlikely love stories, then you’ll love the first book in Jami Albright’s Brides On the Run series.

Picture Book - Encyclopedia of Grannies by Eric Veille

Translated by Daniel Hahn (translated from French?)

2019, Gecko Press, New Zealand

HC. $17.99

28 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.46 - 24 ratings

My rating:  3
Thick cardboard covers, thick pages with rounded corners.

1^st line/s:  "The world's first encyclopedia devoted entirely to grannies."

My comments:  2/3 of the book seemed intended for the entertainment of grandmothers, if they're not easily offended.  Not actually sure who the intended audience of this book actually is....but I enjoyed most of it with a wry smile throughout....

Goodreads:  Why do grannies always tell us to speak up? Why do they have creases on their faces? Are grannies flexible? How do you cheer up a sad granny? How old are grannies, actually?
          Eric Veill� explains it all in this offbeat book for the extended family to chuckle over--no matter what kind of grandma you have, are, or would like to be. From the author of My Pictures after the Storm, which received three starred reviews and which School Library Journal proclaimed "may be the funniest book of the year."

74. The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

read on my phone - purchased Kindle (so now own)
2019, Gallery Books
400 pgs.
Adult CRF Romance
Finished 8/6/19
Goodreads rating:  4.04 - 31,253 ratings
My rating:  3
Setting: Contemporary Hawaii, for the most part

First line/s:  "In the calm before the storm -- in this case the blessed quiet before the bridal suite is overrun by the wedding party -- my twin sister stares critically down at a freshly painted shell-pink fingernail and says, "I bet you're relieved I'm not a bridezilla."

My comments:  A trite but mostly-fun ride.  It's about twin sisters, big families, misunderstandings big and little, lies, and attraction.  Although you absolutely know what's going to happen in the end, it's fun watching the route in which it takes to get there.

Goodreads synopsis:  Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.
          Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.
          Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.

46. Open Season by Linda Howard

listened to Audio - Chirp
read by Deborah Hazlett
Unabridged audio (8:47)
2001 Pocket Books
320 pgs.
Adult romance with a bit of mystery....fun!
Finished 5/17/2019
Goodreads rating:  4.01 - 17,200
My rating: 4
Setting: 2001 Alabama

First line/s:  from prologue:  "Carmela nervously clutched the burlap bag that heeld her other dress, some water, and a small package of food she had been able to save for the trip north, across the border."
from Chapter 1:  " 'Daisy, breakfast is ready!' "

My comments:  This book was a riot!  I snickered and guffawed all the way through it.  It was a mystery and it was a romance (quite sexy, actually, for its 2001 copyright) and it was a makeover story, all rolled into one...and it was loads of fun.  The narrator, Deborah Hazlett, used just the right touch of southern/Alabaman accent to really pull the whole thing off.  Greatly enjoyed it!

Goodreads synopsis:  On her thirty-fourth birthday, Daisy Minor decides to make over her entire life. The small-town librarian has had it with her boring clothes, her ordinary looks, and nearly a decade without so much as a date. It's time to get a life—and a sex life. The perennial good girl, Daisy transforms herself into a party girl extraordinaire—dancing the night away at clubs, laughing and flirting with abandon—and she's declared open season for manhunting. But her free-spirited fun turns to shattering danger when she witnesses something she shouldn't—and becomes the target of a killer. Now, before she can meet the one man who can share her life, first she may need him to save it.     
          Seamlessly blending heart-pounding romance and breathless intrigue, Linda Howard delivers a stylish and provocative novel that absolutely defies readers to put it down.

Poetry - Outside the Box: A Book of Poems by Karma Wilson

Illustrated by Diane Goode

2014 Margaret K. McElderry Books

HC $17.99

172 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.85 - 221 ratings

My rating:  4.5 

My comments:  In this homage to Shel Silverstein, funny, clever, rhythmic poems (including poems with no flabby rhyming) are not only dedicated to the great children's poet, but they even look and sound somewhat like his creations.  Such fun!  A few follow...

Goodreads: This laugh-out-loud poetry collaboration from a New York Timesand Publishers Weekly bestselling author and a Caldecott Honor illustrator is anything but ordinary.
          Dive in to Karma Wilson's latest collection of more than 100 poems: some humorous, some poignant, and all of them Outside the Box. Illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Diane Goode, Outside the Box has something for everyone. Appealing to kids and parents alike, poems such as Sick Day, My Pet Robot, Balloonaphobia, and Aliens Under My Bed are sure to delight and entertain.

Bubble Trouble

I bought myself two packs of gum.

I chewed and chewed some more.

I blew a bubble round a fat,

and bigger than ever before!

I blew and it grew

and grew

and grew

and grew!

None of my friends could believe it.

The biggest bubble ever blown,

and I was the kid to achieve it!

I kept on blowing, it kept on growing.

When would it ever stop?

It all seemed like such an awesome plan

till my sister made it

POP!

Man in the Moon

When you look at the face

of the Man in the Moon,

what kind of face do you see?

Is it aged and wise, sad, surprised,

or happy and beaming with glee?

Is it angry and stern, full of concern,

wistful, or filled with delight?

What mood do you see

in the face that shines down

and kisses the darkness with light?

A Lump of Clay

It’s just a lump of clay,

that’s it.

But pick it up

and squeeze a bit.

Now roll it, pat it,

poke it, too.

Pinch the clay

a time or two.

With imagination

and elbow grease,

you’ll create

a masterpiece

Pound it down

to a lump, and then

pick it up and

start again.

Shades of Gray

The shadows of trees, the clouds in the sky.

The wings of a wren as she flutter on by.

The face of the moon as he watches the night,

not quite black, but not quite white.

The hue of the world

when the sun slips away.

Beautiful shades of gray.

Moose on the Bus

There’s a moose on the bus,

and he caused quite a fuss

when he clambered aboard, big and brown.

We screamed for police

to restore general peace,

but they weren’t anywhere to be found.

The moose thought awhile,

then strolled down the aisle

and sat in the seat next to me.

He is kind, more or less,

and I have to confess,

he makes for polite company.

But one thing I’ve found

while the bus drives around

and I sit with a moose at my side,

He’s friendly and all,

but he’s really quite tall,

and his antlers are rater too wide.-

61. I've Lost My Hippopotamus by Jack Prelutsky

illustrated by Jackie Urbanovich
read the book - from Bosler Library
2012 Greenwillow Books
144 pgs.
Kid's Poetry
Discovered and read on 10/10/17
Goodreads rating:  3.89 - 277 ratings
My rating:4

Some of the poems I liked to follow comments, below

My comments:  I was greatly surprised to see this book pass through circulation at the library....I'm very familiar with other Prelutsky books that "look" the same - A Pizza the Size of the Sun, New Kid on the Block, Something Big Has Been Here. - but this was totally a new one to me.  There were lots of poems that take two words (one being an animal) and combining them:  Pelicantaloupes, Crabacus, Asparagoose, and Wiguanas to name a few, where he goes on his usual silly explanations that no one else can get away with.  And there are six haikus!  CAMEL:  I have one large bump,/ Two long, beautiful lashes,/ And a foul temper.  His vocabulary usage, as usual, is superb, introducing what I am sure are many new words to unsuspecting young'uns.  Lots of fun!

Goodreads synopsis: Some of the animals in this book are real. They include:
the hippopotamus (she's missing)
the elephant (he's artistically talented)
the octopus (it's great at multitasking).
          Others may not be quite so real. These include:
the wiguana (very hairy, for a lizard)
the halibutterfly (there's something fishy about it)
the gludu (quite clingy).
          In the tradition of Jack Prelutsky's classic poetry collections The New Kid on the Block, It's Raining Pigs & Noodles, and A Pizza the Size of the Sun, here is a book packed with more than 100 funny poems and silly pictures. Most of the poems are about animals—some are big and some are small, some have unusual interests, and some are just plain unusual.

A handful of haiku: (!!)

Camel

I have one large hump,

Two long, beautiful lashes,

And a foul temper

Frog

All evening I sing.

Happy on a lily pad,

Celebrating spring.

Mole

Tunnel!  I tunnel!

I never see my tunnels,

Yet they comfort me.

Oyster

I’m clearly no gem,

But in my interior

I’m growing a pearl.

Peacock

I am glorious!

My tail has a thousand eyes

For you to admire.

Zebra

Black white black white black.

I am a striped illustion,

A horse in disguise.

Cupcakes

I’m very fond of cupcakes

And love to eat them up,

But I’ve never found a cupcake

That came inside a cup.

I Played a Game of Golf Today

I played a game of golf today –

I’d never played before.

I wasn’t ery good at it

And won’t play anymore.

I shot a sixty-seven,

Which was surely not my goal.

My score was even higher

When I played the second hole.

I’m Gazing through My Telescope

I’m gazing through my telescope

At something in the skies,

Something I could never see

If I just used my eyes,

Something that’s so far away

I wonder haow the light

Can even reach my telescope

Sop I can see the sight.

Somewhere in the universe,

As distant as can be,

I now extraterrestrials

Are looking back at me.

Of course, I can’t detect them,

And in fact, I have no hope,

If they can see me, the must have

A Better telescope.

A Centipede Was Thirsty

A centipede was thirsty,

But to satisfy its need,

It drank too much for it to hold ---

And so the centipede.

My Pencil Will Not Write

My pencil will not write,

My crayons do not draw,

My lantern cannot light,

My saws refuse to saw.

My toothbrush is too soft,

My football can’t hold air,

My kit won’t stay aloft,

I’ve lost my underwear.

My songbird has no song,

My you-you doesn’t work,

My calendar is wrong,

My clock has gone berserk.

My TV won’t turn on,

My hat falls off my head,

My cat’s meow is gone ---

I’m better off in bed.

My Snake Can Do Arithmetic

My snake can do arithmetic,

My snake is far from dumb,

My snake can take two numbers

And come up with a sum.

She can’t subtract, which makes her sad,

And two things make her sadder . . .

She can’t divide or multiply ---

My snake is just an adder.

PICTURE BOOK - Billy's Booger by William Joyce and his younger self

A Memoir (sorta) Illustrated by the author

2015, Atheneum

40 pgs. plus 12-page insert

Goodreads rating:

My rating: 5 Stars, Glorious!

1^st line/s: "Once upon a time, when TV was in black and white, and there were only three channels, and when kids didn't have play dates --- they just roamed free in the out of doors - there lived a kid named Billy."

My comments:  I'm always on the lookout for picture books for older kids.  Fourth and fifth grade boys will love this one...it's funny, and imaginative, and a teeny tiny bit gross...

Goodreads: A young lad who would rather draw than do math, spell, or gargle finds the perfect outlet for his always-on imagination in this manifesto to creative joie de vivre, featuring a book within a book, from the brilliant minds that brought you The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.
          Billy loves to draw. He draws on books and on his homework and even on his math tests—he might not get the answer right, but doesn’t it look swell sitting in a boat at sea? His teacher doesn’t think so, and neither does the principal. But the librarian has an idea that just might help Billy better direct his illustrative energies: a book-making contest!
          Billy gets right to work, reading everything he can about meteors, mythology, space travel, and…mucus? Yep, his book is going to be about the world’s smartest booger, who stays tucked away until needed—say, to solve multiplication problems, or answer questions from the President. Billy’s sure his story is a winner. But being a winner doesn’t mean you always win.
          Full of nostalgic references to a time when TV was black-and-white and Sunday newspapers had things called the funnies, this wildly fun story-within-a-story is based loosely on children’s book legend William Joyce’s third grade year, and includes a sewn-in mini-book of that tale of the world’s smartest booger.

43. Judy Moody, Mood Martian - Megan McDonald

Judy Moody #12
read by Barbara Rosenblat (who was great, but I didn't like the way she read Stink)
Listened to CD with Ella driving around PA
2014, Candlewock & Brilliance Audio
208 pgs.
genre/audience
Finished 7/6/15
Goodreads rating: 4.11
My rating: 4
Ella's rating:  4.5

My comments:  Judy Moody is a riot...but even funnier is her brother, Stink.  It was fun getting reacquainted with Judy, her family, her friends,  and her antics in this 12th book of a really wonderful series.  Keep 'em coming, Ms. McDonald!

Goodreads synopsis:  It’s Backwards Day, so Judy Moody double-dares herself to become Queen of the Good Mood for one whole week. Can she do it?
          Will the real Judy Moody please stand up? In honor of Backwards Day, Judy Moody decides to turn that frown upside down, make lemonade out of lemons, and be nice to stinky little brothers. In fact, Judy becomes a NOT moody, cool-as-a-cucumber neat freak for one whole entire day. But when her combed hair, matching outfits, and good moods hang around for days after, her friends begin to worry. Could this smiley Judy be an imposter?

65. The Good Luck of Right Now - Matthew Quick

2014 Harper Collins

285 pgs.

Adult Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Finished 10/17/14

Goodreads rating: 3.60

My rating:   3.5 Liked it a lot, with one reservation

TPPL

Setting: Contemporary Philadelphia with a foray to Montreal and Ottawa

1st sentence/s: "Dear Mr. Richard Gere,  In Mom's underwear drawer -- as I was separating her "personal" clothes from the "lightly used" articles I could donate to the local thrift shop -- I found a letter you wrote."

My comments: This book was certainly quirky and fun. And funny.  The protagonist, Bartholemew (love that name!) Neil reminded me a bit of The Rosie Project's Don Tillman. But somehow it's impossible to totally picture a grown man of 38 never having a job, a friend other than the local priest and his mom, a vocation, a hobby, an interest... I tried and tried to conjure an image of this poor guy, but to no avail.  My imagination is usually pretty good, but to totally love a book I need to relate in some way and I couldn't. I wasn't IN this story, I was watching from afar, if that makes any sense.... But I still liked it very, very much.
      Here's a quote that resonated: "Back before she got sick, mom always used to say, "for every bad thing that happens, a good thing happens, too - and this is how the world stays in harmony." Whenever too many good things happened to us, mom would say, "I feel sorry for whoever is getting screwed to balance all of this out,": because she believed that our good meant that someone else somewhere in the world was experiencing bad.  It actually depressed her when our luck was very good.  Mom hated to think about others suffering so that we might enjoy our life."

Goodreads book summary: For thirty-eight years, Bartholomew Neil has lived with his mother. When she gets sick and dies, he has no idea how to be on his own. His redheaded grief counselor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded in his mom, Saturday mass, and the library learn how to fly?
          Bartholomew thinks he’s found a clue when he discovers a “Free Tibet” letter from Richard Gere hidden in his mother’s underwear drawer. In her final days, mom called him Richard—there must be a cosmic connection. Believing that the actor is meant to help him, Bartholomew awkwardly starts his new life, writing Richard Gere a series of highly intimate letters. Jung and the Dalai Lama, philosophy and faith, alien abduction and cat telepathy, the Catholic Church and the mystery of women are all explored in his soul-baring epistles. But mostly the letters reveal one man’s heartbreakingly earnest attempt to assemble a family of his own.
          A struggling priest, a “Girlbrarian,” her feline-loving, foul-mouthed brother, and the spirit of Richard Gere join the quest to help Bartholomew. In a rented Ford Focus, they travel to Canada to see the cat Parliament and find his biological father . . . and discover so much more.

42. Gooney Bird Greene Collection - Lois Lowry

Gooney Bird Green Books 1 - 4

audio read by Lee Adams - superb!
6 unabridged cds (7:01) Listening Library, 2009

1 - Gooney Bird Greene  (2002) 96 pgs.
2 - Gooney Bird and the Room Mother (2005) 80 pgs.
3 - Gooney the Fabulous (2007) 96 pgs.
4 - Gooney Bird is So Absurd (2009) 112 pgs.

(382 pgs. total)

Finished 7/17/14

Early/Intermediate Readers, the characters are in the 2nd grade

Goodreads Rating: 4.01

My Rating: 4/ Loved it

Bosler Library

Setting:  Contemporary Anywhere, USA

My comments:  Though pretty much implausible, this book is nonetheless enchanting.  I've read the first book previously, loved it. This time I listened with my 2nd grade granddaughter, who LOVED it.  Lee Adams, who read it, is TERRIFIC. Mrs. Pidgeon is a dream teacher.  And all four books (which I highly recommend reading in order) are full of writing and poetry lessons.  The implausibility is Gooney Bird herself.  I've taught a lot of creative, clever, extremely intelligent kids and Gooney Bird is still not quite a a believable character for me.  But who cares?  She's great! (And so is Mr. Leroy, the principal.  Every principal in the world should take pointers from this guy....

Goodreads Review:  This four-story collection includes:

Gooney Bird Greene There’s never been anyone like Gooney Bird Greene at Watertower Elementary School. She is the star of story time and keeps her class on the edge of their seats with her “absolutely true” stories. But do her classmates have stories good enough to share?

Gooney Bird and the Room Mother Gooney Bird wants to have the lead role of Squanto in her class Thanksgiving pageant. But that role will go to whoever finds someone to be the room mother. Gooney Bird finds a room mother alright, but promises not to tell who it is until the day of the play. But will the mystery room mother really show up?

Gooney the Fabulous Gooney Bird has a fabulous idea after her teacher reads fables to the class. Her fabulous idea is that each student create their own fable and tell it to the class! Everyone but Nicholas is excited about their stories and costumes. Can Gooney Bird find out why Nicholas is unhappy and get him to join in the fun?

Gooney Bird Is So Absurd On the day that Gooney Bird wears her special brain-warming hat to school, Mrs. Pidgeon is teaching her class about poetry. But just when things are going well, the kids get some terrible news. And Gooney Bird will need all the inspiration her brain can muster to organize the most important poem the class has ever written. 

This Moose Belongs to Me - Oliver Jeffers

Illustrated by the author

2012, Philomel/Penguin

HC $16.99

32 pages

for: kids...even older ones....or ESPECIALLY older ones!

Goodreads rating: 4.03

My rating: 4.5

Endpapers: a long, blue colored pencil line drawn across the page, turning at the end of each row, so that it looks like the string Wilfred unwinds so he won't get lost in the woods.

Illustrations: "The art for this book was made from a mishmash of oil painting onto old linotype and painted landscapes, and a bit of technical wizardry thrown in the mix here and there."

1^st line: "Wilfred owned a moose."

My comments:  I so enjoy this wonderfully creative writer and illustrator.  Each book I read tickles me even more than the previous one!  This one, about sharing friends, is doubly fun because of the moose angle - my favorite animal if I had to have one!

Goodreads summary:  Wilfred owned a moose. He hadn't always owned a moose. The moose came to him a while ago and he knew, just KNEW, that it was meant to be his. He thought he would call him Marcel. 

Most of the time Marcel is very obedient, abiding by the many rules of How to Be a Good Pet. But imagine Wilfred's surprise when one dark day, while deep in the woods, someone else claims the moose as their own..

MOVIE - One for the Money

Fun, love Morelli, but Ranger is so not Ranger...
Monday, 2/6/12 at El Con by myself

64. Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich

Audio read by Lorelei King
Audio Renaissance, 2006
7 unabridged cds
7 hours
320 pages
Rating:  4

OSS:  Stephanie Plum helps Ranger find his kidnapped daughter.

Yup, that's right.  We learn a bit more about Ranger and his past in this book, and the antics are just great.  Laugh out-loud funny in some places.  Lula has started singing in a rock band and chooses outrageous outfits to wear (and Grandma Mazur joins the group for a bit....).  A gay male couple now runs the funeral home.  We are introduced to Melvin Pickle, a sad, shy, guy who is the most recent addition to Stephanie's conglomerations of weirdo friends.

Evanovich is so clever when it comes to some of the apprehensions that Stephanie attempts.  How does she keep coming up with such ideas?  Funny, silly, crazy...and sometimes, she really does get her man (or woman).  This time the crew is looking for a new bounty hunter and the array of applicants they get is downright hilarious.  But the kidnapping of Ranger's daughter and the daunting task of trying to find and catch the kidnapper - who is impersonating Ranger - gets pretty hairy.  It helps to know that Stephanie will always overcome.

Ranger AND Joe are shown about 50/50 in this one.  FFFFUUUUNNNNN!

It's Christmas, David - David Shannon

Blue Sky Press (Scholastic) 2010
$16.99
32 pgs.
Rating: 4
Endpapers: Red

Poor David - especially at Christmastime! He can't do anything he wants, and even indulges in a bit of naughtiness (including, it appears, peeing his name in the snow). However, it's only in his dreams that he's rewarded with a lump of coal - Christmas morning is quite lucrative for him.

Filled with humor and bright Christmas colors, It's Christmas, David, is hilarious. (NOTE: I can't stand his pointy, gapped teeth. Yuck, they look rotten and lessen his appeal.)

This is the fourth "No David" book after 1998's No David, then David gets in Trouble and David Goes to School.

Basil's Birds - Lynn Rowe Reed

Marshall Cavendish, 2010
$17.99
32 pages
Rating: 4
Endpapers: BRIGHT yellow

The humor in this book is very appealing. The illustrations are particularly interesting as well. So that means the story and the pictures are both a GO.

The illustrations look like something I could draw. I'm sure I couldn't, but they LOOK like I might be able to. I love the eyelashes, the teeth, the necks (or lack thereof, Principal Kabalsky) and the added phtots here and there. Reed uses clay birds as well, so the illustrations have a definite collage look.

Basil Birkmeister, the Janitor at Perch Elementary School, has had a bird build a nest on his bald head. He becomes quite attached to the nest, the bird....and then the baby birds that hatch and grow there. He caters to them, and even sleeps standing up so that he does not disturb them. It's really that simple...and that fun.

As simple as the illustrations are, I examined each one for the added touches that were included. Real tool fabric makes up Basil's nightshirt. And the worms - real, yucky worms. Kid's will love this! It's different. And fun. And it even has some great language included in some really good writing. A hit for me!

Lynn Rowe Reed's website.
Lynn Rowe Red's Facebook page.