This is a meme to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week
COMPLETED LAST WEEK:
     07/23  Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy (Rating: 4)
     07/20  Sidney Sheldon’s Mistress Of The Game by Tilly Bagshawe (Rating: 4)
CURRENT READ:
     Revenge Served Cold by Jackie Fullerton
WHAT’S NEXT:
     Sweet Dreams, Miss England by Iris Blobel
     Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas

Slapdash Sunday is a day for your proverbial week ‘leftovers.’ Is there something you wanted to say, but just forgot? Is there something you want to write about, but isn’t worth a whole page? Do you have a random thought, funny or otherwise that needs to be written down?
That is what Slapdash Sunday is for!
     This weeks topic:  Time
I now realize how much time it takes to read review books in a timely manner, writing reviews,  participating in memes, visiting others’ blogs and keeping my blog current and updated.  A positive in my slow post operative recuperation is that I have time to do all of the above.  But I know this won’t last.  So I was wondering how do you allocate your time between the above and then activities of daily life, be it job, household needs and just “real life” in general.

Do you have a schedule?  Do you give yourself time limits?  How much time do you spend on household, reading and blog upkeep?  How do you juggle it all?

Slapdash Sunday is a day for your proverbial week ‘leftovers.’ Is there something you wanted to say, but just forgot? Is there something you want to write about, but isn’t worth a whole page? Do you have a random thought, funny or otherwise that needs to be written down?
That is what Slapdash Sunday is for!
     This weeks topic:  Time
I now realize how much time it takes to read review books in a timely manner, writing reviews,  participating in memes, visiting others’ blogs and keeping my blog current and updated.  A positive in my slow post operative recuperation is that I have time to do all of the above.  But I know this won’t last.  So I was wondering how do you allocate your time between the above and then activities of daily life, be it job, household needs and just “real life” in general.

Do you have a schedule?  Do you give yourself time limits?  How much time do you spend on household, reading and blog upkeep?  How do you juggle it all?

Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy
Published by The Penguin Group
ISBN: 978-0-425-23521-8
At the request of Kaye Publicity, a PB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (back of book):  Everyone wants a piece of millionaire Bennett Marshfield, owner of Marshfield Manor, and letters are coming in daily from those claiming to be poor relations. The elderly, reclusive heir trusts no one but his aged curator, Abe. But when Abe is killed in a case of mistaken identity, the tide changes…
  Although shaken by the murder, Grace Wheaton, whose lifelong dream has been to work at the manor, steps up to the challenge of assuming Abe’s job. But now some of the letters arriving for Bennett have taken a nasty turn, demanding millions-or else. When an uninvited stalker shows up at the manor and at Grace’s home, she and handsome grounds-keeper Jack Embers must protect their dear old Marshfield. But to do this, they’ll have to investigate a botched Ponzi scheme, some torrid Wheaton family secrets-and sour grapes out for revenge.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: This is the first book of Ms. Hyzy’s Manor House Mystery series and the first book that I read by this author. I thought that this would be a cozy mystery and that I would probably figure out the “who did it” person relatively early. But I was wrong on both accounts. From the first chapter, where assistant curator, Grace Wheaton, handles a disturbance that takes place in the Bird Cage Tea Room, while a murder takes place in the private living quarters. To the last chapters where the “who did it” person was revealed, flowed so smoothly but with a page turning suspenseful plot. Grace takes control, jumping into the head curator’s position and also trying to assist the small town police department in the hunt for a murderer. Ms. Hyzy introduces a cast of characters with quirky behaviors, which any one of them could be the murderer, but was surprised as to who it was. Along the way she also discovers secret passageways, a Ponzi scheme, which the owner of Marshfield Manor is involved in, in some way and even some very personal family secrets. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading Grace Under Pressure and will look forward to the next book in this series. Ms Julie Hyzy was “Guest Author” on this blog on July 14th.

From her blog:
   We all leave our “footprint” on the world, in one way or another. We each, individually, do something or are someone that makes the world a little better just by being here. I created this weekly meme to get to know the blogging community I love just a bit better. To know what makes them tick, outside of books, that is. Each week I will post a question to be answered in the following week’s “A Bit of Me(Me)”. Check back each Saturday to get the info for next week’s post and link up with your current post right here.

This Weeks Question: Tell everyone a bit about your very best quality or talent!   Read more:
  Talents?  I don’t play any instruments, even though my mom made me take piano lessons as a kid.  I can’t draw, but wish I did.  And I definitely can’t sing,  I even hurt my own ears while singing in the shower  lol but again, sure wish I could.
  As for my best quality,  I would have to say it is listening and keeping secrets.  I ask a lot of questions, which really annoys my family, but feel that and listening are ways to learn.  I believe that I developed this trait while in college during my final semester clinical hospital rotation.  I had requested that I be on a Cancer Unit.  My Dad passed away from pancreatic cancer when I was 16 and because of that, I felt I had to be able to deal with patients dealing with this disease.   Where I could be supportive to them and their families without allowing personal feelings to hinder that process.  Family, friends and even my kids’ friends usually come to me whenever they have a “problem” because they have told me, they know I will listen and keep their secrets behind zipped lips.  Now you know another “bit of me”.

What talents do you have?  What do you consider your best trait(s).  Would love to hear and get to know a “bit of you”.

Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy
Published by The Penguin Group
ISBN: 978-0-425-23521-8
At the request of Kaye Publicity, a PB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (back of book):  Everyone wants a piece of millionaire Bennett Marshfield, owner of Marshfield Manor, and letters are coming in daily from those claiming to be poor relations. The elderly, reclusive heir trusts no one but his aged curator, Abe. But when Abe is killed in a case of mistaken identity, the tide changes…
  Although shaken by the murder, Grace Wheaton, whose lifelong dream has been to work at the manor, steps up to the challenge of assuming Abe’s job. But now some of the letters arriving for Bennett have taken a nasty turn, demanding millions-or else. When an uninvited stalker shows up at the manor and at Grace’s home, she and handsome grounds-keeper Jack Embers must protect their dear old Marshfield. But to do this, they’ll have to investigate a botched Ponzi scheme, some torrid Wheaton family secrets-and sour grapes out for revenge.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: This is the first book of Ms. Hyzy’s Manor House Mystery series and the first book that I read by this author. I thought that this would be a cozy mystery and that I would probably figure out the “who did it” person relatively early. But I was wrong on both accounts. From the first chapter, where assistant curator, Grace Wheaton, handles a disturbance that takes place in the Bird Cage Tea Room, while a murder takes place in the private living quarters. To the last chapters where the “who did it” person was revealed, flowed so smoothly but with a page turning suspenseful plot. Grace takes control, jumping into the head curator’s position and also trying to assist the small town police department in the hunt for a murderer. Ms. Hyzy introduces a cast of characters with quirky behaviors, which any one of them could be the murderer, but was surprised as to who it was. Along the way she also discovers secret passageways, a Ponzi scheme, which the owner of Marshfield Manor is involved in, in some way and even some very personal family secrets. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading Grace Under Pressure and will look forward to the next book in this series. Ms Julie Hyzy was “Guest Author” on this blog on July 14th.

From her blog:
   We all leave our “footprint” on the world, in one way or another. We each, individually, do something or are someone that makes the world a little better just by being here. I created this weekly meme to get to know the blogging community I love just a bit better. To know what makes them tick, outside of books, that is. Each week I will post a question to be answered in the following week’s “A Bit of Me(Me)”. Check back each Saturday to get the info for next week’s post and link up with your current post right here.

This Weeks Question: Tell everyone a bit about your very best quality or talent!   Read more:
  Talents?  I don’t play any instruments, even though my mom made me take piano lessons as a kid.  I can’t draw, but wish I did.  And I definitely can’t sing,  I even hurt my own ears while singing in the shower  lol but again, sure wish I could.
  As for my best quality,  I would have to say it is listening and keeping secrets.  I ask a lot of questions, which really annoys my family, but feel that and listening are ways to learn.  I believe that I developed this trait while in college during my final semester clinical hospital rotation.  I had requested that I be on a Cancer Unit.  My Dad passed away from pancreatic cancer when I was 16 and because of that, I felt I had to be able to deal with patients dealing with this disease.   Where I could be supportive to them and their families without allowing personal feelings to hinder that process.  Family, friends and even my kids’ friends usually come to me whenever they have a “problem” because they have told me, they know I will listen and keep their secrets behind zipped lips.  Now you know another “bit of me”.

What talents do you have?  What do you consider your best trait(s).  Would love to hear and get to know a “bit of you”.

Today I am delighted to have Nancy Thayer, author of Beachcombers, visit while on her virtual tour. Hopefully you saw my review (06/16/10) of this perfect summer read and if you did, then you know why I am so excited that she is stopping by. Please help me welcome Nancy Thayer.

Nancy Thayer is the New York Times bestselling author of Summer House, Moon Shell Beach, The Hot Flash Club, The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again, Hot Flash Holidays, The Hot Flash Club Chills Out, and Between Husbands and Friends. She lives on Nantucket. You can visit Nancy Thayer’s website at www.NancyThayer.com.

   Abbie Fox hasn’t seen her father or two younger sisters in almost two years, during which she’s jetted around the world and experienced life, if not love. But now Lily, the baby of the family, is sending Abbie urgent emails begging her to return home to Nantucket. Their middle sister, Emma, has taken to her bed, emotionally devastated after the loss of her high-powered stockbroker’s job and a shockingly unexpected break-up with her fiancé. Also, Lily is deeply worried that Marina, the beautiful, enigmatic woman renting their guesthouse, has set her sights on the sisters’ widowed father, Jim. The Fox girls closed ranks years ago after the haunting, untimely death of their mother, but seeing their dad move on with his life forces each of them to take stock.
   Over the course of the summer, the sisters’ lives grow as turbulent as the unpredictable currents encircling Nantucket. When Abbie encounters an incredibly appealing married man, she breaks her own rules in the name of love, fearing all the while that she’ll regret it. Meanwhile, type-A Emma learns a new definition of success, and strong-minded Lily must reconcile her dreams with reality. Even Marina, who has come to Nantucket to forget heartbreak and betrayal, faces an astonishing turn of events that will find her torn between fate and freedom. At summer’s end, these unforgettable women will face profound choices—and undergo personal transformations that will surprise even themselves.
This book needs to be in your beach bag along with towel and sunscreen. You can order it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Beachcombers-Novel-Nancy-Thayer/dp/0345518284
Read an exerpt from the book….Chapter Two