Robin, I'm going to look into some of those links. They look like something I'm going to love! :) I read Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House - 3 Stars - Housekeeping interests me and I’m often eager to learn more. This housekeeping tome is definitely informative and useful. The author, a Harvard educated attorney and part-time professor, takes on a rather academic approach to housekeeping. The beginning of the book was inspiring. She talks about housekeeping having become a dying art, and rather than focusing on perfection, the emphasis should be on making the home welcoming and clean. I would love to be able to do most of the things that the author suggests, but many other things interest me also, and so housekeeping often gets put on the back burner. I learned quite a bit, but I have to say that much of it is rather overwhelming and there were parts of it that I felt were a bit over the top. Honestly, if I were to attempt to carry out most of her suggestions, which again I would love to be able to do, I would have to find a way to clone myself. Books like this have a tendency to make me feel slightly inadequate. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I love your positive attitude. :grouphug:

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant is on sale today.

The Club Dumas is on sale today.

I hope that you enjoy it. I just glanced at my Good Reads review and I remember that it's not huge in plot, but the writing is beautiful. I loved the characters, especially the Count. Yes, exactly. I'm happy that I read it, but I need something light now!

:eek: I finally finished The Agony and the Ecstasy - 3 Stars - This is a thoroughly well-researched historical novel about the life of Michelangelo. What an incredible time in history! Michelangelo was definitely passionate and driven when it came to his art. He finished the Pietà when he was just twenty-five years old! He finished the statue of David before he was thirty. Sculpting marble was what he loved most and most of his works were sculptures. He painted the Sistine ceiling alone over a four-year period. He felt driven by God to create. He also had to face many challenges – and I assume that’s what “The Agony†part of the title is referring to. His obstacles included: his money-grubbing family members and all their demands, pettiness, and drama; his own financial troubles; various corrupt popes; as well as wars. I was amazed that he managed to get much done with all the craziness around him. I can’t recommend this book unless if you’re eager to learn about Michelangelo, that period of time in history, or if you just love art history. It got excessively long (more than 700 pages long) and I felt bogged down by way too many repetitive details. However, for me it’s not the length that bothered me. When it comes to loving books, length is never an issue. In fact, if I love a book, I don’t want it to end. This book just didn’t draw me in the way that I had hoped. Am I happy that I read it? Yes. Did I love it? Not necessarily. Some of my favorite quotes: “God was the first sculptor; He made the first figure: man. And when He wanted to give His laws, what material did He use? Stone.†“The Tuscan treats stone with the tenderness that a lover reserves for his sweetheart.†“He had always loved God. In his darkest hours he cried out, ‘God did not create us to abandon us.’ His faith in God sustained him; and now he must make manifest to the world who God was, what he looked and felt like, wherein lay His divine power and grace. His God must not be special or peculiar or particular, but God the Father to all men, one whom they could accept, honor, adore.†MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

Books by Susan Branch are nice also. They're a trilogy. The first one is The Fairy Tale Girl. If she likes style and home-y sort of stuff. she might like books by Jennifer Scott. Has she read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" or "Gone With the Wind"? Both are books that my daughter and I loved. (Editing to add: Gone with the Wind does not have a happy ending, but is still one of our all-time favorites). Dogs as I See Them is lovely for anyone who likes dogs, but there's not much reading in it. If I were to pick just one among all of these, I would choose "The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt".

I have found graphic novels/anything illustrated to be wonderful for those who dislike reading. The first one that popped in my mind is a book that my daughter and I have both loved. My daughter's friend who actually hates reading, loved this book also. I'll try to think of more.

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore on sale today.

Two kindle books on sale today: Slouching Towards Bethlehem Different Class - which should be read after her other book "Gentlemen and Players"

I have been thinking of you every day and keeping you in my prayers. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Robin, it may be a while before I get around to reading it. I wish that I had more time to read! Don't we all :D? I'm a book hoarder. When I see a good deal on amazon or elsewhere and if the book interests me, I grab it while I can. You're welcome. Glad that you got it at last. I'm looking forward to reading it as well. If anyone's interested in reading about North Korea, I read Nothing to Envy a few years ago and it was definitely worth 5-stars for me. It's the sort of book that remains with you for a while. Some of you may have already read it. It's not on sale at the moment.

The Girl with Seven Names on sale today.

I haven't yet read anything by her, but I was happy to get her first book on sale today.

Kindle book on sale today

One of my friends loved the Caroline book. It'll be a while before I read it. Maybe look it up on Good Reads and see if any of your friends with hopefully similar tastes like it or not?

Kindle books on sale today: The Essex Serpent Hillbilly Elegy The Gathering Storm Caroline

Stacey, I haven't tried them. Sorry that you're experiencing this. There have been many threads on hair loss. I've posted a few times. My posts here are long, but they may be of help.

Two kindle books on sale today: Those Who Save Us The Child Finder

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: to everyone.

No Time for Tears is on sale today.

Oh no. Praying, praying, praying, and sending love and hugs your way. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Kindle book on sale today.

This. This is where I am also. It took a while, but I'm pretty much here as well. You said it far better than I ever could. Stacia, I don't listen to anything in the car either. My computer is also on mute most of the time. The older I get, the more sensitive I am to noise. I do enjoy music in the mornings while making breakfast and doing the dishes, mostly classical these days. That's pretty much it. I never thought that I would become this way. I'm learning to enjoy quiet more and more.

Not always, and definitely not when my kids were small. Now that mine are older (teens), I have far more time for reading. The weekly Book a Week Thread is a wonderful one. Many don't read a book every single week. To me, it's more about the joy of reading rather than the number of books read.