TBR vs. DNF

I can’t possibly be the only one who struggles with this…can I?

Leaving the library with upwards of 10 new books in my bag is a weekly high like no other. The wide-open possibilities are intoxicating. I can sense it now, by proxy, just writing about it.

I get home.

And then…I come down hard.

I draw a book from the bag. The main character in this right-up-my-alley mystery makes a totally ridiculous choice – abandon. Draw another. That juicy non-fiction biomedical expose starts losing it’s juice after Chapter 2 – gone. The next. The middle grade fiction that I chose (again) and tried (again) still isn’t working for me – see ya. And on it goes – book after book, once so full of promise and hype, becomes another notch on my Goodreads DNF shelf.

There is usually one good apple in the bunch – one book that I read AND finish. On a good week, I find two. I re-read old favorites when necessary. The rest get put back, forlornly, in the library bag and returned. I go through so much of this trying on that it is what I now expect. Does the librarian think I read all of those books? I hope she’s on to me, because then I would know that I am not alone.

Am I?

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Book Review: The Party by Elizabeth Day

The Party by Elizabeth Day employs many familiar literary devices of suspense – the unstable outsider surrounded by privilege, the unnamed secrets that bind characters together, a plot revealed through multiple epistolary viewpoints, an unreliable narrator – but Day deftly utilizes these in refreshing and unexpected ways. The comparisons to other recent works of literary suspense, particularly Gone Girl and The Talented Mr. Ripley, are unavoidable, but I hope these do not deter potential readers who might expect more of the same. I promise: this one is different.

I found the primary vehicle of suspense to be reminiscent of Big Little Lies – mainly, something has happened and now the reader will be taken between time periods and perspectives to get the answers. I have been disappointed more than once with recent popular suspense setups, but not here. Day’s writing is crisp and her pacing is even. Her character development is so good that both Martin, a creepy sociopath, and his damaged, subservient wife, Lucy, are sympathetic without the use of reader manipulation. The innermost thoughts of Martin are particularly chilling, and Day’s employment of The Art of War as a guide in Martin’s pursuit of Ben’s friendship is a masterful choice. Readers will certainly become impatient for the resolution (this reader certainly did) but this sense of urgency only underscores the author’s writing talents. The Party is a page-turner of the highest, creepiest order.

I was provided an advance reader copy by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

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Beautiful!

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Book Problems

See, when you have a middle grades book problem, and are then advised to take personal belongings home for the summer, your home office looks like this. cropped-image1

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Worth Every Penny

Living on one income means living without fancy cars, clothes and restaurants. It means hand-me-downs and garage sales. It also means giving up material things for what really matters – your children. Priceless.

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Published on eHow Mom!

One of my articles….yay! eHow Mom

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Keep Searching!

Now that work has slowed for me somewhat, I am reminded of how important it is to ALWAYS be searching. A great gig (probably) won’t last forever. This can be tough because we get so busy with working that we forget to continue to look for more work.

I just signed up a JournalismJobs.com. This isn’t for everyone, of course, but I want to continue to work in the media field so it seems like a good hunting spot for me. Find job hunt pages that you like, bookmark them, and check them every morning. My fav is Rat Race Rebellion.

Happy hunting!

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Sign Up to receive Bing rewards!

I just found out about the Bing rewards program. You can sign up here and earn rewards for the searches you would be doing anyway.

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Hallelujah! And I Love My Dentist

Hallelujah! My weeks of sinus suffering have ended. The problem was a mean and nasty molar tooth that had turned on his brethren. Yanked out on a Sunday by my wonderful dentist and I feel good as new.

Back to helping mommies find work – including finding some for this mommy!

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A Good Gig at Leapforce

Leapforce is one of the big search engine evaluation companies, and it is very popular with work-at-home moms. When I last checked it out, you could work as little as 10 hours per week and these could be at any time, day or night. The basic premise of this job is that you provide feedback on how well a search engine is understanding what the human who typed the search was looking for.

I got into and completed the training for one of the other big companies, but the work was HARD and involved adult content (ick) so I didn’t do the job. I did apply this time with Leapforce, because I compulsively apply for every job I see, and I think you should all do the same. This is, in my opinion, one of the best gigs out there.  Here’s the link https://www.leapforceathome.com/qrp/public/job/1;jsessionid=1360E854D7FAA4FB4E896DCD0BD3F4AF to apply. I hear it can take a long time to hear anything. Good luck!

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