Find out more information on Painted Dresses by clicking the book cover. Click here to read the first chapter. I love this new feature. I always know within the first chapter if I'm going to enjoy my time in an author's world. Here is my review. I didn't even contact Patricia for an interview. The past couple of weeks have been crazy-busy. Sorry, Dreggies.
My Review:
I recognize Gaylen and Delia. Unfortunately, that means there are families so touched by deep, dark secrets that members of those families become unable to function in a normal relationship. We all have those broken spots in our lives...can we swing in a circle and not bump into someone who is scarred?
Delia is flighty, rebellious and out of control. She peppers her surroundings with emotional buckshot. Gaylen spins like a toy top, bouncing and whirling elsewhere (anywhere) attempting to do what she knows is right. Her crippled past guarantees that those right things will fail.
This novel is a very gritty read. Not your traditional inspiring Christian fiction. If there are categories of Christian fiction...one being sharing the hope and light of Christ and His power, the other showing how desperately hope, light and power are needed, Painted Dresses falls in the second category. You won't feel warm and fuzzy after reading it. You may find hope, it's not a hopeless read, but it is a very long look into lives of people who spend weeks and months grasping, gasping and trying to protect their view of themselves, regardless of the cost.
I applaud Patricia Hickman's desire to open a closet door, and if you love fiction that goes to the dark place in a human's soul, you definitely need to read the first chapter. Those who've been there may find healing by opening up and peeking in.
I spent some serious time looking up recipes last week and was inspired to do a bit of baking with a twist. Can you make a chocolate chip cookie that tastes great and might be good for you (or better....)? I think I found one. And the benefit of all the fiber is that if you gorge on the little buggers you will be sorry, sorry, sorry later so that's a serious deterrent to those who can't control themselves around chocolate chip cookies.
These even passed the family test. The salt/soda is half of the Tollhouse recipe, the sugar is decreased by 1/3 to 1/2 depending on how serious you are about packing your brown sugar. The fat is cut in half by replacing 1/2 a cup with a cup of flaxseed and decreasing the flour to one cup and adding one cup of oatmeal for extra fiber.
Chocolate-Oat-Walnut Yummos
1 stick (1/2 cup ) butter (don't use trans-fat product) (I plan to experiment with peanut or cashew butter) 1 and 1/3 cup brown sugar (not packed) 1/2 teasp baking soda 1/2 teasp salt 1 teasp vanilla 2 eggs 1 cup ground flaxseed 1 cup old-fashioned oats 1 cup flour (I used all-purpose, but next time will try oat) 1 cup chocolate chips (cocoa nibs or a 70% + dark chocolate bar -- chopped) 1 cup chopped walnuts
Soften butter (or use room temperature butter), add brown sugar and blend. Add baking soda and salt and stir. Mix-in vanilla and eggs, stir until completely blended and add the flour, flaxseed and oats and stir until completely mixed in. Finally toss and mix-in chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes (depending on your oven). Cool. These have a great nutty taste from the flaxseed and are soft and fluffy with a bit of crunch.
James Scott Bell visited the Dregs in November. Click here to read his entertaining interview and read my review of book one in the Tyler Buchanan series. (You'll need to scroll down after clicking.)
Visit Jim's website, and read the first two chapters of Try Darkness here.
My Review:
Try Darkness is one of the best legal thrillers I've read. Better, than Try Dying because Dying was melancholy and Ty's sarcastic bent was darker. In Try Darkness, Ty is more inclined to hope. He's still cynical but he's beyond the rough grief.
I love Ty and his quirky band of people. Sarcasm, bad guys, legal maneuvering and a hint of romance make this an entertaining read. The influence of those who love God and Ty's struggles with what he believes or doesn't believe make Try Darkness an honest and compelling yet inspirational read.
Murder, violence and evil are very present in the novel. Those who are very sensitive may struggle a bit. Legal thriller lovers, mystery lovers, folks who devour multi-dimensional characters and those looking for a great story will find much to like. Bell is a master. I am looking forward to what happens next in Ty's life. Based on where we left off in Try Darkness, it's going to be good.
In case you can't tell by the graphic picture, I have a purple toe. Yes, my ring toe (what else do you call it?) was the victim of a smash and bash today.
My sweet daughter, Ms. 21, broke her pinkie toe several weeks ago. It is healing nicely but still not a happy camper, or walker...definitely not kicker. She refers to it as her grape toe. Her story, she was in a rush and ran to get a phone and as she turned a corner, she made it, all but her pinkie.
You'd think a tiny little appendage wouldn't stop an entire human in their tracks. This one did.
Much babying, taping and icing later, she has managed to snag that little sucker only three or four more times. Not pretty.
She claims I could have been more sympathetic. Whatever.
So today, 21 and I took Lily and Lola out on the town. They went through the bank drive-thru and got a puppy treat and oohs and ahhs. Then we went to Petsmart and they got to pick out a toy to share, some "new baby" gifts for a new cousin and a big bag of treats. Fun. Fun. They spent a little time in the car with Grandma (me) while Mommy went into Best Buy (No dogs allowed. The nerve.) They got lunch leftovers and then we headed home.
For some strange reason the puppies, the 70-pound puppies scattered once they were out of the car. First to go potty. Good Girls! Then to sniff and walk the yard parameters.
I held several shopping bags and had my left foot up on the bottom concrete step, readying to go into the house when Lily walked toward me. She then executed some clumsy maneuver and fell. Down two steps. She landed squarely on my ring toe. Bam.
She immediately got up, shook it off and carried on with her doggie business. Thank heavens my toe was there to break her fall.
I'm sitting on the fence. I liked Nim's Island because it feels a little bit like Holes. Hovering around the real and blending with fantasy and quirky visuals, this story is an exercise in imagination and is entertaining most of the time.
I liked the casting overall. Jodie Foster played the angst-ridden adventure novelist with the whole gamut of human emotion. Gerard Butler got to exercise his acting muscles as well. I appreciated the ingenuity and attitude that Abigal Breslin as Nim Russo displays. A breath of fresh air when so many of our kids are bored even with all the technology and toys that money can buy.
The value of family and the importance of others in life is an underlying theme that strengthens the movie.
The negatives...well, there was really only one. I really struggled with not getting sucked into the story. I spent more time "yeah-right"ing than buying what was going on. The frantic pace of parts of the movie, the outlandish happenings and the blending with the real made it almost feel like a tall-tale that doesn't quite get beyond a middling-tale.
Parents of four to ten year-olds (depending on maturity level) will likely find Nim's Adventure to be a treat for the whole family. If my kids were younger, I'd probably purchase Nim's Island.
My Review:
