Strangers Among Us

Hello dear reader.

I’ve started working with a program called Net Galley. This cool organization lets me read books before they get published and give my opinion on them. The cool part for you guys is that you get a heads-up on the awesome ones before they hit the shelves.. See, I have to give my opinion, good or bad, to Net Galley. But I will only talk about the good books on here. (Wink)

So here is my first review for you. The book is called Strangers Among Us and is due out in August of this year. It’s a book of short stories by different authors. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others, of course. But I didn’t dislike any of them. I highly recommend grabbing a copy of this book as soon as it becomes available.
The review I wrote for Net Galley goes as follows:

Strangers Among Us is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time! Once I started reading it, I couldn’t stop! Most books of short stories have a few good ones, but mostly ones you rush through hoping that the next one will be better. That was not the case with “Strangers Among Us.” Every story stood on its own and was a pleasure to read. Many of the stories had me wondering if my reality is real. Many of the stories gave me hope. All of the stories made me see things in a different light. A truly enjoyable and thought provoking book.

This is something I will be posting on my blog from time to time. Not to worry though, most of my posts will continue to be my usual ravings.

Let me know what you think about this. Would you like to hear about the books that I didn’t like as well as the ones I did? Did you like the post? Did you hate it?

Until next time…..

Relaxation

Happy Independence Day dear reader!

I was inspired to write about relaxation today by a few things. Obviously it’s 4th of July and summertime. I think it was more about the time we spent with some good friends yesterday, and ways to relax came up in the conversation.

There are a lot of people (myself included) who have to make an effort to relax. Sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s true. I try to just read a book , sit out in the sun, or just watch something on television and immediately my head is full of all the things I should be getting done. I tell myself that they can wait, which helps for about 30 seconds. From that point on there is an argument going on in my head and “relaxing” becomes one of the more stressful parts of the day!

People like me are really thankful for people like Tim. He will push me to go do things like taking a ride on the motorcycle or going for a walk in the woods with the dogs. I usually agree to it just to make him happy, but once I’m there I’m always extremely glad that I went. I come back relaxed and refreshed. That being said, you’re probably asking yourself, “If she knows it will help her, why does she have to be pushed into it?” That would be a totally legitimate question which I don’t have a clue how to answer.

Last night was a perfect example. We had dinner with a couple who are really good friends of ours. Yesterday was also the memorial service (at 11 a.m.) for Brenda. Needless to say, I wasn’t really in a mood to socialize. But plans had been made and both of them spend a lot of time out of town, so I felt obligated to go. I am SO glad I did! We had a wonderful time talking and laughing. We didn’t leave until after 11:00. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t in bed by 10 at the latest. Yeah, I know, I know. The point is that my heart took a break from the pain I was feeling over losing Brenda and I was relaxed. Why is that so hard to do?

So I thought I’d try something a little different today. If I did it right (BIG if!) there will be a poll on here which asks you about your favorite ways to relax. There are a few things listed but, since there are as many ways to relax as there are personalities, there’s a “fill in the blank” option as well.

If you have any ideas about why it is so difficult for people to relax, or anything else you’d like to say, there’s a place for that as well in the comments section.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful time today with friends and family. Relax and enjoy it!

Until next time….

Relaxation Poll