My Current Interest

     Sometimes I come across a book that is just important to read.  That’s it.  It just has to be read because of the message it gives.  Today We Go Home is one of those books.      Larkin Bennett’s military career has ended and she is trying to find her way in civilian life.  This is not easy.  She is haunted by her experiences in Afghanistan, and blames herself for her friend Sarah’s death.      With no family to leave her belongings too, Sarah has left it all to Larkin.  Larkin has to remove everything from a storage locker, and when she does, she discovers an old diary.  A diary from the 1860s.      The author of the diary is Emily Wilson.  She begins the diary after her father and brother, David, leave to fight in the Civil War.  It is something her father gives her to record everything that happens on the farm.  A record he will read when he gets back.  ...

     It can sometimes be hard to watch a show when you know it’s already been cancelled.   Yet, with Beecham House , I still found myself absorbed with the story.   Which is funny, because I wasn’t planning on watching this show.   Yet, I still found myself not wanting it to end.      There are a lot of mysteries surrounding John Beecham (Tom Bateman).   He appears to be a man of money, but no one knows how he attained it.   He wants to start a trading business, but as an English man in 18 th century India, the Indian community around him wonder if he truly is independent from the British.   And then there is the biggest mystery of all.        Who is the mother of John Beecham’s child?             The truth about who mothered his child, August, is a secret John is determined to keep to protect his son.   Whenever anyone asks about August’s mother, he r...

     There is a debate out in the world as to whether Frank Sinatra should have been Sky Masterson over Marlon Brando in the film adaptation of Guys and Dolls .  While I am sure there are good arguments as to why Sky should have been played by Sinatra, I am 100% in the Brando camp.  I know he is not a perfect singer (something often referenced), but there is something about Marlon Brando that makes him perfect for the character of Sky.  It’s the way he looks at a person.  It’s the way he acts around others.  There is something about Marlon Brando no one else has that works perfectly for the character.  Plus, I’m not a fan of Sinatra.      Nathan Detroit (Frank Sinatra) has a problem.   He needs a site for an underground craps game, but no one will let him use their place.   Only one man will even consider it, and he wants $1,000 upfront.   Money Nathan does not have.      To raise the money, Na...

     For as long as I can remember, there has been talk in my family about how great it would be to go on a cruise.  We have seen many exciting cruises offered.  Some with themes, some without.  But as of yet, I have never been on one.  Maybe someday I finally will.  Just hopefully a calmer one than Jessica Fletcher went on. The High Seas /Artwork by Kate Dorsey      Jessica Fletcher has been given the task of performing lectures and writing a play, all to be presented during a crossing of the ocean liner the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2).   She went on this exact same liner years ago with her husband, Frank, and is excited to be on the ship again.   There is some sadness she is not with her husband, but it is an adventure Jessica is looking forward to.      She cannot, however, say the same about writing a play.   Her success is with writing novels, not plays.   Despite what some may believe, writi...

Images provided by Kensington Books.      Sometimes with a series there is a book that puts me on edge.   I have a hard time reading it.   Sometimes I don’t finish it at all.   If I don’t finish it, I tend not to continue on with the series.      That is something that almost happened with The Poppy McAllister Mysteries .   I loved the first book, Class Reunions are Murder , but the second book I had a really hard time with.   There were so many annoying characters!   Something told me to keep going, though.   I found the annoying characters evened out, and I was able to finish Midnight Snacks are Murder .      Then came Restaurant Weeks are Murder .   I enjoyed this book, so I read the fourth, Theater Nights are Murder .   With this fourth book, I fell in love with the series all over again.   Now I am greatly looking forward to the fifth installment to see what happens next.   ...

Behind the Door /Artwork by Kate Dorsey      There have been a lot of Harry Potter marathons on TV these past several months.  Sometimes I watch.  Sometimes I don’t.  Sometimes I’ll watch one particular film, while other times I’ll watch another.  It really depends on how I feel at the moment.  In any case, I end up watching a lot of Harry Potter .      Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is a boy who discovers he is a wizard on his 11 th birthday.   He lives with awful relatives, and finds it a great relief to go off to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.   It is here Harry meets his two best friends, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley ( Rupert Grint ).   Together, through seven years of school and eight films, these three friends work together to survive school and take down the infamous villain, Lord Voldemort ( Ralph Fiennes ).      These three have to survive school in more th...

     Olivia really, truly has got to go.  She is incredibly obnoxious.  To make matters worse, Mel and Angie act really immature when they deal with her.  Even when Olivia is hardly in the book her actions grate on my nerves.  She is definitely a character that has to go.                    Business has been slow at Fairy Tale Cupcakes.   When an opportunity comes along to sell their cupcakes at a rodeo,  bakery owners Mel Cooper and Angie DeLaura think it’s a great idea.   At first, they think they will be able to bring only one other person with them, but everyone involved in the bakery insists on coming along.   That makes five people, in a new cupcake van, on a road trip out of town. Road Trip Treats /Artwork by Kate Dorsey      Upon arrival, selling cupcakes at the rodeo seems like it will be a great adventure as well as good for business.   Then, Sli...