library

Abraham Lincoln-His Essential Wisdom

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A book that sits on my desk at work is “Abraham Lincoln~ His Essential Wisdom”, edited by Carol Kelly-Gangi. No, I don’t flip through this book looking for little gems of insight to hand out to my team members should they have questions, issues, complaints, etc. But…. I have read it. It is a wonderful little book that has many known, and unless if you read EVERYTHING about Abe like I do, many unknown quotes.

Mr. Lincoln truly was a funny man, with a sense of humor that some may have found as dry, or even rude, but those close to him knew it as nothing more than his wit and clever thinking.

Sometimes it may have come out at an inappropriate time, or shocked some of his guests or listeners, but I really think no harm was meant by it on Abe’s part. I really think he could do nothing more than just be honest, no matter how much one didn’t want to hear the truth.

So why do I have this book sitting on my desk? I like to look at it. It has a nice portrait of President Lincoln on the cover, and I have a slightly over-zealous obsession of all-things-Lincoln. No, I do not know why. He is not a long-ago branch on my family tree, and I cannot remember the first time I became aware of who our 16th President was. Maybe I did a report on him when I was in Kindergarten?  Maybe we had a school celebration for Presidents day that I was conscious of but too young to remember today?

On My Desk
On My Desk

It’s a book I will take home eventually to put back in my bookcase, maybe replacing it with another book of one type or another. I think I like it on my desk because it is a part of who I am, and a part of what defines me, my feelings, my beliefs, and my love of all comments sarcastic, right-in-your-face, no words minced.

With that being said, I should also say I have a Pop Television Dr. Sheldon Cooper vinyl doll standing in front of this book (but not blocking the portrait!), pictures of my girls all over my cork board, usually a Portals of Prayer book sitting somewhere near-by if I take it out of my purse, and a candy dish that I change with the holidays full of whatever candy happens to be in season. Gingerbread Twix, Hot Cocoa 3 Musketeers, and Cordial Cherry Hershey’s Kisses right now. Yummy!

You Cannot Help But Love This Guy! Unintentional sarcasm at its best!
You Cannot Help But Love This Guy! Unintentional sarcasm at its best!

I spend 50-60 hours a week at work, sometimes more. I spend a lot of that working on a computer. So having my desk feel a little bit like home makes it not-so-bad to be at work so much. Oh. And loving my job helps too!

“An Irish Country Christmas” by Patrick Taylor

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A great, feel-good story!
A great, feel-good story!

If you are looking for a feel-good book to read to get you in the Christmas spirit, and you want something a little more cheerful than “A Christmas Carol”, this is the book for you!

It was by chance that I happened upon one of Patrick Taylor’s Irish Country books. Being Irish, if it has anything to do with it, I am reading it! I was glad to find these books, they are a fun read, while interesting, and the descriptions have you feeling like you are sitting in the same room as the characters.

The series revolves around an Irish town Doctor of long-standing, and his newly hired Doctor, who is learning his senior partners’ ways, usually with laughs. They share a house with a housekeeper who keeps you chuckling as well, and the practice is actually ran out of said house. (Don’t you wish it was still like that?)

They are in the county of Ballybucklebo, and Barry is excited to spend his first Christmas in the village, if his fiancé cooperates, that is. A new Doctor in town is proving to be stiff competition as well, practicing medicine in a “new” way that the other two gentlemen don’t favor. This “new” type of medicine is the basic way we are treated by doctors. Not new to us, but new to the setting this story takes place in.

As Fingal tries to figure out his love-life, and Barry tries to salvage his, they also take it upon themselves to help a young single mother who is struggling with her sick son. The story is not overly romantic (I certainly wouldn’t put a Harlequin stamp on it) but definitely gives you an idea of what these two somewhat attached men struggle through with the respective women in their lives.

There is enough drama and emotional attachment to this little sick boy, his mother, and the doctor’s themselves that will keep you turning the pages on this book until you realize you are at the end and looking for another of Patrick Taylor’s Irish Country stories. This is a great read, a feel good story, that will have you laughing as well as rooting for the characters in the story.

For your own information, some other Irish Country books by Patrick Taylor are, “An Irish Country Doctor, An Irish Country Girl (about their wonderful housekeeper in her younger days), and An Irish Country Wedding.”

Have you been lucky enough to read one of these books? Did you enjoy them as much as I have?

“The Race” Review, Richard North Patterson

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For being a political story written around a presidential election, I really enjoyed this book. I do not tend to lead toward politically-centered books, but this book seemed to have the right mix of everything. Corey Grace, the main character, went through numerous challenges to stick to his morals, while two other contenders fighting for the Republican nomination played less than fair, and nowhere near honest enough. There were certain aspects of this story, where “buying” votes was basically main stage and every day occurrences, that I truly wonder how often this goes on, because I know it does, at least to some extent. The back dealing of if we get this states votes, we will have this person, but lose this other state’s votes.

The story remained exciting without getting weighed down by too many details that weren’t necessary. There was a romantic twist, without being vulgar; just enough information to hold your attention, and have you rooting for Corey Grace to have a romance that works for him.

Although I am not likely to read this book again, as it isn’t my normal type of book, I would definitely recommend it to anyone to read. You do not have to be a political expert to follow the plots that are going on, and it is certainly a page-turner.

Next I think I am recycling a book because I am pretty sure that was the last book on my shelf that I haven’t read.

My Most Cherised Book

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All of my books are important to me; not only do they give me stories of far-away places and magical things, but they also hold my memories from the first time I opened them, to the 10th time I read a particular story, to the story that brought me through a depressing or sad time of my life. Every book I have opened holds my memories of that story as well as its story itself. I have enough books boxed in my basement to fill a couple bookshelves, with nowhere to put them, yet 🙂

But the book I hold most special, was a gift on my 30th birthday from my sister-in-law. I think the only thing I am a fan of more than Abraham Lincoln is The Wizard of Oz. This story as well as it’s less famous follow-up stories are a huge part of my childhood, and I cherish each of them. So to get an autographed book from Roger S. Baum, great-grandson of L. Frank Baum, literally left me speechless, and in tears. My brother and sister-in-law met Mr. Baum as he was signing books at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I will apologize for the less-than-stellar pictures, as I did not have the best lighting conditions, but the inscription is as follows:

7/27/2002

Angela

From Machele:

Oz, I’m sure, means different things for different people but, two things are for sure, Oz is love and it is for the young-in-heart. If you remain young-in-heart, the gates to the Emerald City will always remain open for you. There is not any age to the spirit.

Roger S. Baum

Toto too

1st page of autograph
1st page of autograph
2nd page of autograph
2nd page of autograph

How amazing is that? I think my brother would be a little miffed to find out I have not yet read this book, as I cannot bear to bend its spine any more than I have to read further than the inscription. He asked me for about 2 years if I had read it, and I told him I couldn’t bear to bend it, and he just stopped asking me 🙂

If you are a fan of the Oz stories, you must go to http://tototooinc.tateauthor.com/ . Frank S. Baum has 15 different Oz books, and he will autograph them for you. I think I’ve found my Christmas present to myself!

“The Race” by Richard North Patterson (2007)

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The latest book I grabbed off from my bookshelf is one I picked up about a year ago from a clearance table at Barnes and Noble. The synopsis on the jacket sounded interesting, and the price was right, so I figured “Why not?”

Very Good Book!
Very Good Book!

And there it sat. As I pulled out other books and read them, and pulled this one out, looked at it, and put it back on the bookshelf. Time and again. Until it was just about the last book on my shelf I had not even read once. So I started reading it  this week. And boy am I ever glad I did. It is a really great story that actually holds my interest, and I am not looking at how many pages I have left to read as I have been with the last couple of books I have read.

It is a political book, which I don’t generally tend to read very many of, about the presidential election and 3 Republican candidates. One is a religious leader, one is a divorced man dating a Hollywood actress, and one is basically a puppet for another man who wants control over the internet, since he already has control over the news stations and journalists. There tends to be a lot of mud-slinging (who would of thought) along with giving the back story on the divorced man who is the central character of the story. Parents who weren’t supportive, a bright military career, current Senator, and living with the guilt of his brothers suicide as well as the loss of his navigator in the Iraq war.

I have to say the story is really less about war and politics and more about the lives of these people, and how they interact and effect each other, both good and bad.

I haven’t finished the story yet, and am forcing myself to not sneak a look at the back of the book to see if Corey Grace, the main character, wins the nomination and future election. So needless to say, I will have what is left of this book finished in short-order, because the suspense is almost too much!

Tuesday’s Thought For The Day!

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Tuesday's Thought For The Day!

I have fallen in love with many different books! Some were dependent on what was happening in my life, some helped me to avoid life and enjoy a fantasy world, even if only for a little bit. But all of them have taught me something. Maybe only one thing; but still, something. Every book I open captures a piece of me in its pages, no matter who opens it next.