My Current Interest

             Can you tell I really like this series?   In a matter of only two or three months I have already read and written about four of the books.   An Unmarked Grave is the fourth installment of the Bess Crawford mystery series and it took me less than twenty-four hours to read.   Now, part of that may be because this book is about 100 pages shorter than those that came before it, but that’s not the full reason.   As per usual, I didn’t want to stop reading and that is why I got it done so fast.                 Bess Crawford, World War I nurse, is in France when the Spanish flu hits.   She is doing her best to care for all the injured and sick that come her way, but she can only do so much.   The illness is sweeping through the troops and it isn’t long until Bess catches it herself.   She is near death and everyone thinks they will lose her until Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon comes to take care of her.   Once she is strong enough to travel, Simon takes Bess back to England

           Even though I’m not a J.R.R. Tolkien fan, I looked forward to finally seeing the second film in The Hobbit trilogy.   What’s the reason for my enthusiasm?   I haven’t seen anything with Richard Armitage for awhile.   So when I saw The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was next on my movie list, I eagerly awaited its arrival in the mail.   Unfortunately, since the film is long (about two and a half hours) I had to wait a day or two before I could watch it.   Once I did, I will admit, I was confused.   It had been such a long time since I’d seen the first film that I didn’t remember all the chain of events leading up to this one.   This probably means that when the third film comes out I shouldn’t wait so long to see it.   Maybe then I will actually remember what is going on.                        In this second installment of The Hobbit , Bilbo (Martin Freeman), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Thorin (Richard Armitage), and the rest of Thorin’s dwarves are still trying to rea

                   Oh, my dear Simon Brandon.   You’re so close, so very close.   Don’t lose her!                 Sigh.   A Bitter Truth has been the most frustrating Bess Crawford mystery so far.   It’s also the one I have liked the least.   In fact, if this book was not part of the Bess Crawford mystery series I would have probably returned it to the library.   Fortunately, it is part of the series and in this installment Simon is heavily featured.   I am a tad partial to Sergeant-Major Simon Brandon, so the more he’s in these books the better.                 World War I nurse Bess Crawford is on leave for Christmas when she finds an abused woman on her doorstep.   The woman is Lydia Ellis and at first she is reluctant to tell Bess her story, but eventually the truth comes out.   Lydia has run away from home after being struck by her husband.   Roger Ellis is on leave from the military because of his brother’s death and he is under a lot of stress.   At least that’s how Lyd

               Well, I did it again.   Except this time I didn’t stay up late reading.   Instead I told myself I would read for only one hour during the day and then I would do my other work.   What I ended up doing was turn the one hour of reading time into three.   Actually, it was more like three and a half.   No matter how hard I try, I can never seem to walk away from a Bess Crawford mystery, and I’ve only read the first two books in the series.   I’m wondering if maybe I should get all the books in the series from the library at the same time, put everything else to the side, and read until I’ve finished the series as it currently stands.   This could work because then I wouldn’t feel so bad reading instead of doing what I’m supposed to, but I would hate to run through the books that quickly.   I think it would be best for me to keep reading one at a time and then get the next when I’m finished.   This means I will have to be better at pulling myself away when I have to.   Som

              Ever since I saw the film The Full Monty years ago I have had a thing for lawn gnomes.   I think they’re fun and quirky and I love when people do creative things with them.   This is why when I saw there was going to be a film called Gnomeo and Juliet , an animated film about lawn gnomes, I wanted to see it.   To be honest, wanting to see a film like Gnomeo and Juliet is kind of unusual for me.   It’s not because it’s animated, but because the story is based on the play Romeo and Juliet .   I hate Romeo and Juliet .   Except for the musical West Side Story , I avoid anything having to do with that play at all.   Which is why it probably took me so long to watch Gnomeo and Juliet even though I did want to see it.   Once I saw it once, I had to watch it again before I sent it back.   This hardly ever happens, which goes to show how much I liked this film.                      Gnomeo (James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt) are from rival families of lawn decorations,