Stephanie Plum #12

Yeah, there is a new Stephanie Plum novel. She is the crazy 30ish female bounty hunter. Very fun reads. #12 is called Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich. It is really good so far. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312349483/sr=8-1/qid=1151433454/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-1343251-9869657?ie=UTF8http://

Also on audio I've been doing Robert Parker, the ones with the private eye named Spencer. They are fun in the car.

I listened to A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L 'Engle, which I hadn't read for a coon's age and it was still good!

Almost out the door!

I'm leaving for vacation on Saturday (to Mexico), so I had to go fess up at the library and pay my fine in order to get more books.

I checked out Sixpence House (AGAIN), maybe this time I will actually be able to read it before the fines start. And, I also got the Short Stories by Gwyn Thomas (recommended by Max) and Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (recommended by AJ, a long time ago - pre-blog).

If I have a chance to get to a different library, I may be able to get the second book in the Hitchhiker series - although I'm concerned that my reading voice will not be nearly as funny as hearing Stephen Fry read the first book.

On the plans for the vacation, the boyfriend is going to take me to an English language bookstore. So, I don't have to worry about running out of books this time. Last vacation, I got a cold and was laying on the couch reading much more than I had anticipated.

I did read a few books recently and haven't posted anything about them. Mom & Dad came to visit and left me a stack of books. I tore through Oaxaca Journal (by the guy who wrote The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat), English as a Second Language (I can't remember the author, but it's about a girl who goes to England for a master's degree - fairly fluffy, but entertaining.)

Also a co-worker lent me the new Amy Tan book Saving Fish From Drowning. It was good, but I'm not sure I liked it as much as the others. I was annoyed by a few holes in the plot.

Have a great 4th!

d

Sleeping with Schubert--Not just for music nerds!

This is a fun read. (it was a great beach book!) It reminded my a little of that movie with Lilly Tomlin and Steve Martin where they share a body--what was it called? Anyway, this girl has to share a body with Schubert. The steamy title is a little misleading, since she does EVERYTHING with Schubert after he "shows up". Here is an excerpt from the first chapter where she realizes something is wrong. It starts with her listening to the pianist at Nordstrom department store.

"I tried to walk away but his playing attracted me like a spectator to an Amtrak wreck. Occasional missed notes hit my body like flying glass. I outplayed him in my head, summoning the music's original beauty. When he left for his break, I calmly took his place on the piano bench and began to play.
Through all my grad-school piano lessons I'd only gotten good enough to recognize the skill in others. Suddenly I became an other. I was not like a lifeless puppet, nor a remote-control robot. All the movement came from inside. Muscles flexed, fingers moved, and my mind was filled with a comprehension I had no right to possess. I vibrated like a tuning fork as the music flowed outward. Visions slid in and out of focus. My brain engaged in a psychic tug-of-war with an unseen opponent.
It was a lovely piece I played, one I'm sure I never head before but which felt like an old friend...(chunk taken out here to save space)...When I stopped, the world of Nordstrom fell in on me again. The response to my music was, like, totally Californian. Most of the shoppers shopped on, unscathed by a miracle...(another sloppy editing job, sorry)...
"Hey, lady, how'd you do that?" I turned to see an adolescent boy in trendy, cool-kid clothes. He stared at me, stunned, as if he'd just discovered fire.
"I don't know," I answered. Then the world grew dark, the ocean rushed through my ears, and I gratefully passed out.

I love this excerpt because it was always my dream to sit down at the piano and have it miraculously sound good without having to practice first. After reading the rest of the book I changed my mind. Practice sounds easier than having a musical genius borrow your body.