I woke up early this morning and in the hours I am spending before my Thursday Morning group, this is what was on my mind...I'm sorry I felt the need to share.
I was listening to the music on my iPod and had it playing alphabetically by song title. I listened to Phenomenon by Rita Springer...good stuff...good stuff. Right after that, the theme song from Pirates of the Caribbean...the ride not the movie...came on. I love my taste in music.
Someone from the D.O.T. needs to explain to me HOW, if I'm in the far right lane of Blanding which gets ON THE INTERSTATE, HOW 35 cars can get up and moving on the ramp and I move 4 1/2 feet in 5 minutes. Road rage...I don't approve, but I completely understand.
I found a new author Susan Elizabeth Phillips and her book Natural Born Charmer and about fell out of the bed a couple of times from laughing. From this book came my new favorite one liner: I have so much character, adding beauty to the mix would just be greedy. One of the things I find frustrating about her love stories is that they tend to be rough around the edges (no morals, very few "values"). Have you ever heard of Janet Evanovich? Her series of books about bond enforcement agent Stephanie Plum is hysterical & Evanovich is a wonderful storyteller - wonderful! Unfortunately the language she uses goes so far beyond offensive at times, that it actually made me stop reading her. Come on ladies - your books could stand on their own if you took that stuff out!
Here's my quandary about mentioning these two authors. I love to read...love to read...but dang where do I draw the line?? Their books express blatant immorality...and bad language...and great story lines - so do I stop reading them? Well, I pose that question already knowing the answer - yes. I say yes for two reasons.
First, there is a nasty fact that what I take in through my eyes and ears takes root in even the most remote reaches of my mind. It helps to shape (for good or bad) how I think, what I think, what I say and even what I do. I liken it to the stories from friends who tell me that they took away certain video games from their kids because they started acting out or acting like the characters in the video.
Second, I have stopped reading them because I have found other authors like Joanne Fluke & Haywood Smith who do a great job of storytelling, character development and humor - without elicit "love" scenes and foul language. Fluke has a Hannah Swensen Mystery series about a cookie baker/shop owner who stumbles upon dead bodies. It's ironic that it could be funny, right? Fluke has niche with this series because she sprinkles the recipes to her cookies and other things throughout the book. Smith's first book that I read was Ladies of the Lake. In it, 4 sisters have to spend the summer together at a less than desirable lake lodge in other to inherit their beloved grandmother's fortune. Humor, honest relative relationships and a little bit of a love story...great beach read!
I have a fantastic library near me, but am having a hard time finding new authors without wading through a whole lotta mind junk - so...if you have a book or author that you would recommend, speak up please!
It's about time to head over to meet up with my Thursday Morning group to laugh, be encouraged and hear from God! This is our last day for the Faithful, Abundant & True study. It has been an amazing book to work through. It really does encourage you while working through some tough issues. Worth you time, I would say!
Have a wonderful Thursday!!
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