When Books Disappoint

I'm a voracious reader.  I go through about 100-130 books a year.  Probably double that go through my hands.  If I am not grabbed by a book in the first 20 pages or so, I'm done with it.  There are too many good ones out there to make myself plod through one I don't like.

I read reviews and make lists.  The one "must read" of the summer, so I read, was Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl".  I had read her first two books (Sharp Objects and Dark Places)  while I waited impatiently for my request to go through the channels at my library.  Those I liked, especially, Sharp Objects.  I am an equal opportunity reader.  I use the library, my used book store, my Kindle, and garage sales to keep up wit the hunt of a good book.  When I see "must read/great beach book"  I get excited that I'll be in for a treat.

So I borrowed this pic from Amazon to let you look for yourself.  Hopefully it will work.

I was greatly disappointed.  It was one of the few books that I made myself finish.  I didn't like the characters.  I felt no connection whatsoever.  I didn't care if they got themselves out of the mess they were in.    All the reviews have been great, so it must be me.  I'm curious at what other readers thought.  Well.... I just called Daughter # 1 since she was reading it too.  She left it half way through.....and felt the same way I did.

I'm pretty sure I have mentioned in another post (but I'm not going to go hunt it down) that the other books I felt that way about are: Angela's Ashes, Cold Mountain, and Water for Elephants.  

Have there been books that have disappointed you and made you wonder why?    I'm curious to know what they are.

I'm Melting

Looks like half the country is suffering from abnormal heat patterns so I know I'm not alone in this.  I live in the south.  This summer has been pretty standard for here,  I think.  Hot, hotter, and damn hot.  This is my 4th southern summer after moving from "Up North".  Even "Up North" has seen 100 degrees this summer and had heat advisories out just yesterday. 

This humidity makes me sweat.  I'm not a girl that is used to sweating.  I'm not a sports kinda girl.  If I ever sweat in the past, I knew I needed to stop doing whatever it was I was doing. About 10 years ago,  I remember my mother asking me if my head/scalp sweated.  It didn't then but now it does.  What's up with that?  It must be an age thing.  It's not attractive to look like I just came out of the pool when I'm in Target!   

I found two more tables to paint last week.  I can't do that because they both have been spray painted black over the original finish and I need to use a paint stripper to see what's under that paint.  To use a stripper, I  need to have them outdoors so I don't breathe in the fumes.  The directions on the can also say to use on a "cool" surface 60-85 degrees and out of the sun.  That leaves me out.  Before moving, we had a garage and that might have worked, but here at the condo, I don't.  That may be a fall project now.

So I'm a little grumpy that I can't do what I want to do because it's too darn hot.

Don't you love Maxine?  Thank you Hallmark for giving this woman of wisdom to us.

I think I'll take Maxine's advice.

Sounds of Summer

Summer, to me, has always been associated with certain music. Ever since Jimmy Buffet sang about Margaritaville in   , I have been a fan.  At one time, we had a Margaritaville deck, and this was in Michigan, where there is nothing remotely tropical.  His music took me to "summer". 

Now, summer isn't summer without a new Kenny Chesney CD.  Since one came out about 3 weeks ago, I am a happy camper right now.  I am right there with him, looking at pretty blue water and hearing the steel drums of the islands, no matter where I am.


But the summers of my "boomer" youth belonged to The Beach Boys.  Snow could be knee deep and the thermometer could read 0, but when The Beach Boys came on the radio, it was summer in our hearts.

From Good Vibrations, California Girls, Fun, Fun, Fun  to Surfin USA ,  I know I was heading to or thinking about the beach and summer.   Being the girly girl that I was and still am, I liked their slow songs  best.   Surfer Girl,  Don't Worry Baby and In My Room.

Surfer Girl..... 1964


In 1988 they had another hit that has become a summer song too.  Kokomo Island was in Jamaica but is now known as Sandals Cay, which sounds to me like a part of the Sandals Resort. 

So no matter where I am, or what the season really is,  when I hear this music, it's summer in my heart.

Do you have any favorite summer songs?  Any songs that take you back to summers of long ago?

Song Time

I haven't posted a song in a few weeks and thought it was time to visit one of my favorites.

Through the years I have had friends that have found themselves in this situation.  I  won't go into the judgement of it, but only the heartache.  It never turns out well.

I've seen a friend marry one of these "Mr. Jones" only to find out he was seeing another "Mrs. Jones" some years later. She had been wife #3.  He moved on. 

Another friend had a 10 year relationship with a married man.  10 years.  wow....Finally it ended.  Probably like this.

From 1972, Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones".

Drive In Movies

Being a fan of PBS, you just never know what is going to be on their schedules.  Usually a lot of the really good things are on during their "Beg for Money" events and I really don't like the long breaks they take to raise their funds during those.  Yes, I know it is a necessary evil and I have given because... I do watch.  The other night we watched an interesting history of Drive In movies that I had DVRed.

Drive-ins began in the late 1930s, really hitting their peak in the 1950s and 60s.  Of course, that's prime time for us Baby Boomers.

Our parents had young families and for the most part, it was much cheaper to pop your own popcorn, fill up the cooler with drinks, load up the kids (that would be us) and take off for a night at the Drive In showing 2 movies.  My sister and I would sit in the back seat, but my brother, being 6 years younger than me, 3 years younger than my sister (the middle child and she has an opinion about that poor overlooked child) would lay in the rear window so he could see.  That would be probably about 1958-1962ish. 

We wanted to go play on the swings and slides way up front, under the big screen, but we were never allowed to do that.  I don't think either of our parents wanted to go supervise. It could also have something to do with the fact, we were always in our pajams too. We were allowed, once in a while, to lay on the hood of the car, if we didn't get in their viewing way.

I was in high school from 1964 - 1968 and did my share of  Drive-in dates.  That's where I saw the Billy Jack movies and the Annette and Frankie Beach Party movies.

We still sometimes, popped our own popcorn to bring in but I think the dates would go inside to get drinks. I do know that on some of my double dates, my girlfriends wanted those giant pickles.  I never could understand that.  Give me the popcorn, thank you.

I know we did try those little mosquito coils you would light  and sit on the dashboard to help keep the bugs away.  I can say, I was never in a car that drove off with the speaker still attached.  That happened lots, I'm sure.

I think Daylight Saving Time killed the Drive-ins.  It's so late by the time it gets dark enough to see what's on the screen.  I think there are still a few stragglers that are open, but they are the rare case.  Now, in this economy, they would be a good treat for cash strapped families.... but, there is that Daylight Savings thing still.

Random Thoughts

1.  In the last couple of weeks we have lost a couple of television icons for us baby boomers.   One was Don Grady from MY THREE SONS (1960 - 1972).   Oh, my goodness.  I thought he was the cutest thing walking, back then.  He was also one of the original Mouseketeers before he got that job and went on to be a musician and composer.  He composed the theme to the Phil Donahue show. Who knew?

See, cutest brother, right?

2.  The other loss was Andy Griffith.  Of course,  THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW (1960 -1968)  was required watching for baby boomers. Mayberry was a small  town where Deputy Barney Fife was only allowed to carry one bullet in his pocket, not in his gun.

For a short time we were able to watch little Oppie grow through the trials and tribulations of childhood with the gentle guidance of his Dad and Aunt Bea.

I know Andy went on to do other things, like MATLOCK, (that my mother loved) but I think of him in Mayberry,  or maybe, sitting on that park bench, "Waitin' On a Woman" with Brad Paisley.

3. I had to stop watching "Dallas". I couldn't get past Larry Harman's eyebrows. Trim those things. 

4.  TOMKAT ....what can I say?   Lots!   I was a Tom Cruise fan for many years.  You've heard the phrase, "jumping the shark"??  It originated when Fronzie from Happy Days did just that on one episode and there after it became known as the moment when everything goes down hill.  Or, the British term is "going pearshaped". 

So, for me, when Tom jumped the couch on Oprah, that was pretty much it for me. (Maverick would not be jumping on a couch!)  Then he got into the argument with Matt Lauer on the Today Show and that only added reinforcement for me.

Poor Katie (he always said "Kate" - seriously) Holmes rarely said a work after the first gush was over.  I loved the t-shirts and websites that said "Free Katie".  I guess she got tired of all the stuff that goes with Tom and decided to get out of Dodge.... or California, anyway.  So, Katie, I say...."Well done."

I have to thank Google for all the photos from my childhood.  Thanks for the memories.