The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean - Science magazine reporter Kean views the periodic table as one of the great achievements of humankind, “an anthropological marvel,” full of stories about our connection with the physical world. Funny, even chilling tales are associated with each element, and Kean relates many. The title refers to gallium (Ga, 31), which melts at 84ËšF, prompting a practical joke among “chemical cognoscenti”: shape gallium into spoons, “serve them with tea, and watch as your guests recoil when their Earl Grey ˜eats™ their utensils.” Along with Dmitri Mendeleyev, the father of the periodic table, Kean is in his element as he presents a parade of entertaining anecdotes about scientists (mad and otherwise) while covering such topics as thallium (Tl, 81) poisoning, the invention of the silicon (Si, 14) transistor, and how the ruthenium (Ru, 44) fountain pen point made million for the Parker company. With a constant flow of fun facts bubbling to the surface, Kean writes with wit, flair, and authority in a debut that will delight even general readers – FROM PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY

The Accidental Millionaire by Gary Fong – The Accidental Millionaire is the memoir of Gary Fong, would-be slacker who revolutionized wedding photography, inventor of popular photography aids, entrepreneur, contrarian, bon vivant and a man who really, really didn’t want to become a doctor. A first-generation Chinese-American, Gary was raised in one of Los Angeles’ least-desirable neighborhoods and was forced to deal―in his own quirky and often very funny way―with the burdens of poverty, crime and his parents’ relentless aspirations. These issues almost overwhelmed him until he had a dramatic epiphany. Spotting a bumper sticker that read “Since I gave up hope, I feel much better,” Gary promptly did just that.

He stopped trying and started succeeding. At turns hilarious, insightful and instructive, The Accidental Millionaire is Horatio Alger-meets-David Sedaris. Turning the traditional self-help principles upside down, The Accidental Millionaire disdains the goal-oriented approaches of traditional self-help philosophies. Sometimes not knowing where you are going is the best possible way to get there. – FROM AMAZON

The I Hate To Cook Book by Peg Bracken – Philosopher’s Chowder. Skinny Meatloaf. Fat Man’s Shrimp. Immediate Fudge Cake. These are just a few of the beloved recipes from Peg Bracken’s classic I HATE TO COOK BOOK. Written in a time when women were expected to have full, delicious meals on the table for their families every night, Peg Bracken offered women who didn’t revel in this obligation an alternative: quick, simple meals that took minimal effort but would still satisfy.

50 years later, times have certainly changed – but the appeal of THE I HATE TO COOK BOOK hasn’t.

This book is for everyone, men and women alike, who wants to get from cooking hour to cocktail hour in as little time as possible. – FROM AMAZON

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Her heart accelerated, and she felt his heart beating against her cheek, where it lay against his back. Her hips moved in unison with the horse, and she suddenly realized how intimate the motion was.

~ To Conquer a Highlander by Mary Wine

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Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook (Contemporary Women’s Fiction) – Just when Jill Murray’s finally figured out how to manage on her own, her ex-husband proves that he can’t even run away reliably. After seven long years missing in action, he’s back–crashing into the man-free existence Jill and her ten-year-old daughter have built so carefully. And what’s a good mother to do? To a child, even a deadbeat dad is better than no dad at all.

Jill’s life just hasn’t turned out quite the way she planned. By now, she’d hoped to be jetting around the world as a high-end cultural coach. Instead, she’s answering phones for a local travel agency and teaching cooking classes at the community center.

Enter free-spirited entrepreneur Billy, who hires Jill as a consultant for an upcoming business trip. Is their relationship veering off in a new direction? And what about her ex? Jill couldn’t possibly still have feelings for him . . . could she? Suddenly, her no-boys-allowed life is anything but.

They say that every seven years you become a completely new person, but Jill isn’t sure she’s ready for the big change. It takes a Costa Rican getaway to help her make a choice–not so much between the two men in her life, but between the woman she is and the one she wants to be.

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The Pearls of the Stone Man by Edward Mooney Jr (fiction) – The Pearls of the Stone Man is an inspirational novel with plot elements that touch both older and younger generations. Main characters Joseph and Anne Marino are rare. They’re still in love after 53 years of marriage and with little time left, Joseph’s priority becomes finishing the stone wall that Anne requested years ago – a special reminder from her childhood.

Needing the help of someone younger, Joseph turns to his son, estranged for five years, in hopes of rebuilding a severed relationship as well as the wall. Two teenagers also come to Joseph’s aide, and he to theirs, as they all work to finish Joseph’s promise to Anne.

The Hypnotist by M.J. Rose (Suspense) – An FBI agent, tormented by a death he wasn’t able to prevent, a crime he’s never been able to solve and a love he’s never forgotten, discovers that his true conflict resides not in his past, but in a…Past Life.

Haunted by a twenty-year old murder of a beautiful young painter, Lucian Glass keeps his demons at bay through his fascinating work as a Special Agent with the FBI’s Art Crime Team. Currently investigating a crazed art collector who has begun destroying prized masterworks, Glass is thrust into a bizarre hostage negotiation that takes him undercover at the Phoenix Foundation—dedicated to the science of past life study—where, in order to maintain his cover, he agrees to submit to the treatment of a hypnotist.

Under hypnosis, Glass travels from ancient Greece to 19th century Persia, while the case takes him from New York to Paris and the movie capital of world. These journeys will change his very understanding of reality, lead him to question his own sanity and land him at the center of perhaps the most audacious art heist in history: the theft of a 1,500 year old sculpture from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

International bestselling author M. J. Rose’s The Hynpotist is her most mesmerizing novel yet. An adventure, a love story, a clash of cultures, a spiritual quest, it is above all a thrilling capstone to her unique Reincarnation novels, The Reincarnationist and The Memorist.

Highland Hellcat by Mary Wine (historical romance) - In the raw, rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands, tumultuous times bred warrior men and women who fought for country, keep, and kin, and loved as passionately as they lived. An illegitimate son, chosen as laird after the ruling Douglas clan slaughtered his family, Connor Lindsay is surrounded by men who challenge his right to lead. Looking for a virtuous bride to cement his leadership by presenting him with an heir, he kidnaps a feisty laird’s daughter. To keep this Highland Hellcat in his bed, he’ll have to do battle with the Douglases, the Church, and most of all Brina herself.

The Making of a Gentleman by Shana Galen (historical romance) - Twelve years in a French prison have left the once dashing Armand Harcourt, Comte de Valere a hollow shell of his former self. Though safely back on English soil, Armand remains locked in a prison of his mind, unable to interact with the glittering social world that was his rightful place. When his family hires the beautiful and determined Felicity Bennett to teach Armand, he is shaken by the onslaught of desire Felicity awakens in him. As Felicity slowly helps reclaim Armand, their passion begins to blossom into a transcendent love capable of healing the scars of both their pasts.

Think of a Numb3r by John Verdon (thriller) – Arriving in the mail one day is a taunting letter that ends with a  simple declaration “See how well I know your secrets-just think of a  number.”  Eerily, those who comply find that the letter writer has predicted their random choice exactly. For Dave Gurney, just retired as the NYPD’s top homicide investigator and forging a new life with his wife, Madeleine, in upstate New York, the letters are oddities that begin as a diverting puzzle but quickly ignite a massive serial-murder investigation. Brought in as an investigative “consultant,” Gurney soon accomplishes deductive breakthroughs that have local police in awe. Yet, with each taunting move by his seemingly clairvoyant opponent, Gurney feels his tragedy-marred past rising up to haunt him, his marriage approaching a dangerous precipice, and, finally, a dark, cold fear building that he’s met an adversary who can’t be stopped.

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This was an older magic, a deeper magic,
the ancient foundation on which all other magic was built -
a longing that had allowed him to cross the Crystal River to find me,
a longing that had brought me to him…

And he was kissing me back, and suddenly I knew him -
knew his thoughts, knew his secrets,
all flooding into my brain as if they were my own.

~ Bitter Frost by Kailin Gow ~

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Unfinished Business: One Man’s Extraordinary Year of Trying to Do the Right Things by Lee Kravitz (Non-Fiction) - After losing his job, Lee Kravitz, a workaholic in his midfifties, took stock of his life and realized just how disconnected he had become from the people who mattered most to him. He committed an entire year to reconnecting with them and making amends.

Kravitz takes readers on ten transformational journeys, among them repaying a thirty-year-old debt, making a long-overdue condolence call, finding an abandoned relative, and fulfilling a forgotten promise. Along the way, we meet a cast of wonderful characters and travel the globe—to a refugee camp in Kenya, a monastery in California, the desert of southern Iran, a Little League game in upstate New York, and a bar in Kravitz’s native Cleveland. In each instance, the act of reaching out opens new paths for both personal and spiritual growth.

All of us have unfinished business—the things we should have done but just let slip. Kravitz’s story reveals that the things we’ve avoided are exactly those that have the power to transform, enrich, enlarge, and even complete us. The lesson of the book is one applicable to us all: Be mindful of what is most important, and act on it. The rewards will be immediate and lasting.

The Pursuit of Nobility: Living a Life that Matters by Tim Daniel (Non-Fiction) – THIS BOOK IS ABOUT LIBERATION. It is highly personal. It is about freeing yourself from the conditions that keep you locked up and lost among the mass mentality that you have willingly joined and hidden behind because it is safe and expected of you. But the voices inside of discontent can no longer be squelched. You are bored, disconnected, and apprehensive, and feel with growing urgency a need to do something bold, original, and significant—to step out of the shadows and start pursuing your true assignment from life. You are ready for the Pursuit of Nobility, where you will leave despair and fear behind and do something that really matters in the real world. But how? The answer is to be found in a larger question: Why? Why are you here? Who are you supposed to be in the world? Once you have a why, you can figure out the how.

This book will help you solve these riddles like no other can. It is not written by a guru. You have probably never heard of its author. But if you are open to the type of guided exploration that rattles you in order to ignite you, that helps you unleash your creative potential without ‘steps’ and popular psychology but instead with wisdom and philosophy, then you just might be ready for your great life’s work. You might be a member of the New Nobility.

Twice Tempted by a Rogue by Tessa Dare (Historical Romance Fiction) – The daring members of the Stud Club are reckless gamblers and no strangers to risk—until love raises the stakes in Twice Tempted by a Rogue.

Luck is a double-edged sword for brooding war hero Rhys St. Maur. His death wish went unanswered on the battlefield, while fate allowed the murder of his good friend in the elite gentlemen’s society known as the Stud Club. Out of options, Rhys returns to his ancestral home on the moors of Devonshire, expecting anything but a chance at redemption in the arms of a beautiful innkeeper who dares him to take on the demons of his past—and the sweet temptation of a woman’s love.

Meredith Maddox believes in hard work, not fate, and romance isn’t part of her plan. But when Rhys returns, battle-scarred, world-weary, and more dangerously attractive than ever, the lovely widow is torn between determination and desire. As a deep mystery and dangerous smugglers threaten much more than their passionate reckoning, Meredith discovers that she must trust everything to a wager her heart placed long ago.

Ravished by a Highlander by Paula Quinn (Historical Romance Fiction) – FORBIDDEN LOVE…Davina Montgomery is no ordinary English lady. For her own protection, she’s been locked away from society, her true identity the Crown’s most closely guarded secret. Until a shocking betrayal—and a bold rescue—land her in the arms of a fierce Highlander, a powerful warrior whose searing gaze and tantalizing touch awaken her body and soul.

UNDENIABLE DESIRE…As the firstborn son of a powerful Scottish laird, Robert MacGregor has no loyalty to the English throne, but he’s not the kind of man to leave a woman in distress, even if she is English. He vows to deliver Davina to safety, unharmed and untouched. Yet one stolen kiss leaves them both smoldering with desire…and desperate for more. With Davina’s secret threatening to destroy his clan, Rob must choose between everything he holds dear and the one woman he can’t live without.

The Great Katie Kate Tackles Questions About Cancer by DeLand, M.D. (Children’s Book) – Join the Great Katie Kate as she starts a young cancer patient on the road to understanding.

When Suzy learns she might have cancer, she begins to worry – until the Great Katie Kate puts her mind at ease. As the Great Katie Kate explains all about cancer and cancer treatments, Suzy regains her confidence, making the Worry Wombat disappear.

Busy Bees at Work and Play by DeLand (Children’s Book) - Join Momma Bee and Bambina Bee as they learn that there is a time for work and a time for play.

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I’m sure it is obvious that I love to read. I read whenever I get the chance. Now that I’m working full time again outside the home, reading time is not as frequent as before but I try to read daily even if it’s just a couple pages of my current book read (right now I’m reading Bitter Frost by Kailin Gow and One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare). My favorite reading spots include my reading chaise in my bedroom, outdoors in the sun, and of course when I get a moment of quietness, in a nice warm bath.

I remember my first love of books came from Dr. Seuss which then led to Nancy Drew mysteries (the originals) and the Sweet Valley Twins (the originals) in middle school. In high school the classics (don’t tell my English teachers!) and V.C Andrews (before she died) fascinated me and later I became entranced by the world of Stephen King (Misery was my favorite) and Anne Rice (the Mayfair Witches) in my early college days. As an adult I became hooked in the historical romance and paranormal romance genres.  I love a good story that transplants into a different place and time. I get so engaged sometimes I feel as if I’ve become the main heroine (of course I’d be the heroine!) and will often dream the scene again after reading.

I try to read a variety of books. Books that take me back to another time period or another world fascinate me, thrillers, adventure, and mystery get my heart pumping with excitement and have me solving a puzzling situation. Stories of struggle, discovery, and hope inspire me. And of course I’m a hopeless romantic so I love a good love story. We all know how it ends but the parts that get to that ending are filled with excitement and passion (at least the good ones are).

I’ve listed below some of my favorite genres that I found off Wikipedia (please note that NOTHING below are my own words)…

• Speculative fiction is an umbrella fiction genre generally encompassing the more specific genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history.

• Creative nonfiction (also known as literary or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives.”Ultimately, the primary goal of the creative nonfiction writer is to communicate information, just like a reporter, but to shape it in a way that reads like fiction.”^[1] Forms within this genre include personal essays, memoir, travel writing, food writing, biography, literary journalism, and other hybridized essays.

• Historical romance is set before World War II.^[1] Many historical romances include contemporary attitudes, as, for example, the heroines often have far more education than was the norm in their time period.^[2]This subgenre includes a wide variety of other subgenres, including Regency romance.

• Inspirational fiction – Any good book can be an inspiration, but many of these books highlight people overcoming adversity or reaching new levels of understanding. Whether they pull themselves up by their own bootstraps or have help from a higher power, these books will uplift and entertain you.^[4]

• Thrillers are characterized by fast pacing, frequent action, and resourceful heroes who must thwart the plans of more powerful and better equipped villains.Thrillers may be defined by the primary mood that they elicit: fearful excitement.

• Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term that is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective (either professional or amateur) investigates and solves a crime.

• Classical Literature refers to the great masterpieces of the Greek, Roman, and other ancient civilizations: Homer’s “Iliad,” Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” Virgil’s “Aeneid,” “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles, along with works by other ancient writers in epic, lyric, tragedy, comedy, pastoral, and other forms.

What’s your favorite genre? Do you like it all or do you have a higher preference for one?

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The severed My Little Pony head, smeared with strawberry jam,
I woke to find in my bed the next morning sent a clear message:
improvisation was frowned upon by the family.

After that little stunt, Allie and Avery  kept a close watch on me,
hovering close by as I threw  together a lumberjack’s portion of pancakes.
~ Sugar Milk by Ron Mattocks ~

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Bitter Frost by Kaitlin Gow (Young Adult, Fantasy) - All her life, Breena had always dreamed about fairies as though she lived among them…beautiful fairies living among mortals and living in Feyland. In her dreams, he was always there the breathtakingly handsome but dangerous Winter Prince, Kian, who is her intended. When Breena turns sixteen, she begins seeing fairies and other creatures mortals don t see. Her best friend Logan, suddenly acts very protective. Then she sees Kian, who seems intent on finding her and carrying her off to Feyland. That’s fine and all, but for the fact that humans rarely survive a trip to Feyland, a kiss from a fairy generally means death to the human unless that human has fairy blood in them or is very strong, and although Kian seemed to be her intended, he seems to hate her and wants her dead.

The Sound Snatcher by Linda Bryan Sabin (Children’s Fiction) - The Sound Snatcher is a noisy and hungry vacuum cleaner looking for sounds to snatch. Especially good for the sensitive child who may fear the noisy vacuum or become unsettled and anxious when confronted by noisy distractions. Vibrant rhyme, alliteration and lyrical rhythm, promote a love of language and the spoken word. A great read out loud book. Special features include: Children can look for the peeking kitty on each page. The kitty exemplifies the quiet confidence gained by discovering the power of words. His curiosity, excitement draws readers into the story. The Let’s Talk About the Book pages provide questions for parents to promote conversation and connections. The Words I Heard page lists vocabulary words and definition to encourage literacy and promote the love of language. See more at http://peekingkitty.com.

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I don’t know. I guess I felt like there must have been something about me
that was basically unlovable, and that’s why my father always left.
~ Still The One by Robin Wells

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