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An Unlikely Suitor: A Novel by Nancy Moser

          This book caught my attention on the library shelf for months. I kept picking it up, reading the back, and returning it to the shelf. It interested me, and I wanted to read the book, but I was never quite in the right mood. There was something that made me believe the story would end up sad and dreary. Finally I brought the book home. Not only was it not sad and dreary, but I had a hard time putting the book down.            Lucy is a New York dressmaker. Her father has died and she has taken on the responsibility of making sure her mother and teenage sister are okay. As a former sweatshop worker, Lucy knows the dress shop she works in is a better situation for her and her family. Despite this knowledge, Lucy cannot resist putting forth her unsolicited ideas for the wardrobe of a handicapped young society woman. The shop mistress is not happy with Lucy, ...

Destination Truth

              There is so much of the world I would love to see.   When I think of all the places I want to go, I find there are far too many for me to count.   This is why I envy Josh Gates and his Destination Truth team.   Well, I envy them to a point.                 The premise of Destination Truth is a team of investigators travel the world searching for creatures of local lore.   They look for all sorts of things.   From Bigfoot-like animals to ghosts and everything in between, the team tries to find what has been witnessed for years by those living in the area.   Sometimes it is a journey to get to the location itself, but once they do, witnesses are interviewed and the investigation begins.   This is where my envy stops.   During the dark of night, the team puts themselves in some precarious po...

2012 Summer Olympics

          Nearly every day of the seventeen or so days of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London I watched something. I will admit, most of my dedicated viewing was in the beginning and waned as the second week was reached. This is because many of the events of interest to me were held early on. While I have heard complaints of the tape delay, it did not really bother me. The main reason for this is probably because the sport most important to me, tennis (is anyone surprised by this?), was aired live and even put on its own channel. That was a brilliant decision in my opinion. I had a great time watching tennis in the morning and part of the afternoon, then switching to gymnastics, swimming, and diving at night. Often times I already knew the results of the night events, but that was okay. I still wanted to see how everything happened. One thing I did not like about the tape delay was how little I was able to see of certain things. ...

My Happy Days in Hollywood: A Memoir by Garry Marshall with Lori Marshall

               When I see someone who has achieved success in a field I am interested in, I want to know how they did it. I am not talking about the nitty gritty details every second of his or her life is revealed type thing. What I want to know is the path a person took. No two people lead their lives the same way. Even if they get to the same end point, how that point was gotten to will be different.                I knew who Garry Marshall was when I picked up this book. If I had not I would not have chosen to read his memoir. What I did not know until I began reading was the extent of Mr. Marshall’s career. He has been involved with everything in Hollywood: writing, acting, directing, and producing. So many people dream about getting into just one of these industries. Mr. Marshall has been fortunate to be successful in all fo...

Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles

               With so many celebrities and entertainment industry people, one would expect Los Angeles to have large and elaborate homes.   The show Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles shows this is not an unfounded belief.   Three L.A. realtors are followed around as they try to sell houses and battle with their own personal problems.   I could do without all the personal drama (the clients provide enough) but I can ignore that in order to see the houses and what it takes to sell them.                 The three realtors are Madison, Josh A., and Josh F.   Each work in different parts of L.A. and have different styles and ideas when it comes to selling.   Sometimes a house is sold in the traditional way.   There are regular open houses and showings, with nothing really special to make this particular home st...

School Spirits

                 With all the different ghost related things I read and watch, it probably seems strange that I would get excited about one particular show from only the commercials.   This is what happened with School Spirits .   It is a show about real life ghost experiences that happened on college campuses.   The reason this intrigued me so is because it reminds me of a college experience of my own.   No, I did not see a ghost (although there were buildings on campus that were apparently haunted).   Instead what happened had to do with a similar show I was watching alone one night.   Usually I am not jumpy, but for some reason that night watching hauntings on campuses put me a little on edge.   There were small noises that eventually brought me to call out to my roommate to see if he was home.   He was not.   Clearly I got through the night okay, but ever ...

The Last Boyfriend: Book Two of the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy by Nora Roberts

               The Last Boyfriend is the second installment in the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy. All the main cast of characters from the first book have returned, but the focus is no longer on Beckett and Clare. This time the attention is on Beckett’s brother, Owen, and their friend, pizza restaurant owner, Avery.                   Years ago Owen and Avery were each other’s first significant other. At the time Avery was five years old, and it was all her idea. I am sure you can figure out how serious that relationship was. Now Owen and Avery are adults and have had a good friendship for years. They are often together with Owen using Avery’s restaurant to work and hold meetings. With so much time together, it is not surprising feelings between the two of them develop. As they are friends, there is hesitance to form a relatio...