Book Reviews and Resolutions

BOOKS:

I have been reading a lot lately.  I confess that I love to read a book--any book.  So, what am I reading?

My newest quilt book is Simple Graces by Kim Diehl.  There is one quilt that I will have to do as it is calling my name, Pie in the Sky.  It is a combination of the churn dash square and the eight pointed star.  I can see it in the 1800 reproduction fabrics.  I know it can be purchased at JoAnn's since this came to me from Santa via the Darling Daughter.  We were out at the grocery store and people were coming up to her to say hello because she is their favorite JoAnn employee.  A celebrity among us!!

For work I read a most adorable book, Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai.  While there is a bit of shooting with real guns as the family flees Afghanistan, the real "shooting" is done by camera.  In this story, the main character is an eleven year old boy.  As the family flees, the boy has his 6-year old sister's hand and they get separated.  The sister, Mariam, is left behind as the family is forced to make their way to the United States.  This is a book written for teenagers, but it is worth reading for all of us.  It is a window into the thinking of people we are not always familiar with.   As I was reading I was hoping that the end would not be predictable and I was happily surprised.  One part really stood out for me, even though it was only mentioned once or twice.  Obviously the parents are taking  steps to find their daughter through contacts still in Afghanistan and relatives in Pakistan, but there are other people, including the U.S. Embassy people, actively looking for this little girl.  In this family of five, she is the only one who is an American citizen.

I am halfway through Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews.  Three friends stay at a beach house in August.  I am reading Vintage Chic by Christina Strutt for ideas now that I have a room to decorate and the Big Book of Home Cooking by Gooseberry Patch.  Think blueberry coffee cake!

RESOLUTIONS:
 
#1   I have a cold.  I tell you this because my first resolution is to be better about my health.  I tend to just keep on going.  As I write this I am remembering that I am supposed to make an appointment because I am always sleepy and I didn't do it.  Oh well, I fell off the wagon, but I can get back on!

#2    I must get organized before I buy any more patterns.  If I was organized then I would know that even though I fell in immediate love with the quilt hanging at Quilter's Corner (Cracked Pots by Miss Rosie), that I really love the colors and that I have a very cute house quilt that Miss Rosie came out with years ago and save myself a bit of $$.  I would begin to realize that I have a thing for garden embroidery and stop buying more and more patterns.  

That is it for me!  What are you reading????