Bloggiesta Day 2

I've got lots to do today that aren't related to my blog at all (sad face), but I do have a few things I plan on accomplishing today:

~Mini-Challenge: How to Build Readers for your Blog through Commenting
    So be on the lookout for my meaningful comments... I just need to learn not to use the words "I" and "me" so much on comments. There are so many blogs I read but don't comment on, which is ridiculous because as you can tell I am rarely at a loss for words.  Or sometimes I don't comment if I see the blogger has lots of comments already, I figure they just don't need me too, but that's stupid so I'm done with that.  Also, sometimes I get frustrated with blogs that have word verification.  I find that by not allowing anonymous comments that I don't get much spam, although that could be because Blogger filters it for me. I promise to comment more if you have me jump through less hoops to do so. ;)  I also feel the need to apologize for all the numerous comments that I would post on one blog back when I first started and didn't quite grasp the concept of  "comment awaiting moderation".  I'm sure some bloggers thought I was an idiot, which is fine because I really should have been paying more attention to what I was doing.

~Catch up on some reviews- I just don't understand why I have so much trouble saying what I want about a book, especially if I liked it.  It's so much easier to say why I don't like a book.  I might have to give that structured review idea a chance...

~Read tonight!  I have to take my little cousins out today, bake a cake, go to book club and work overnight tonight.  My client sleeps fairly well through the night, and only gets up a few times.  Sadly she doesn't have internet in her home, but I can always get some reading done.  I'm going to try to get through A Crafty Killing and make some more progress in When You Were Mine.

 There's still just so much to do!

So what are your plans for today? 

Bloggiesta Day 1 and Winner!

So it's day 1 of the Bloggiesta and I'm already behind.  Tomorrow and especially Sunday are going to have to pick up today's slack, but here's what I plan on or have done so far today:

~Write reviews for

• The Great Gatsby
• Nightfall

~Start reading ARC of When You Were Mine

~Catch up on some of the panels that I missed for BBPOC

~ Comment on at least 20 blogs per day.

~Mail off the signed copy of The Fault in Our Stars

~Work on my Read-a-long idea and my Half-Read Readathon idea.

~Work on my challenge idea for Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

~Update my Books Read journal.


I'm went ahead and submitted my challenge idea to Dewey's Readathon, and I have a draft of the challenge in the works.  I really can't wait.  And I already have at least 1 book for my pile (and an oldie that I ordered from paperback swap).

I also picked the winner for a signed copy of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  Mailing off a copy later today.  The winner is....

Lexie from The Book Bug!

I'll be using this post for all things Bloggiesta today, including challenges and updates.

TGIF #57

I've never participated in the meme before, but as soon as I saw the question I knew exactly the place I would take all of us bloggers to!

Here's today's question over at GReads:

Book Blogger Retreat: If you could gather up a handful of book blogger friends to spend a weekend away talking books, where would you go? Tell us about it.

Even though I now live on the East Coast, I lived for almost a decade in Oklahoma.  The Hubs and I discovered a delightful bed and breakfast called Shiloh Morning Inn.  What sets this b&b apart from others is that it's not just a normal large house full of rooms, but they also have several cottages on the grounds, lending a privacy not found in sharing a large house with a bunch of people.  There's places to walk, tons of hot tubs, and their food is literally to die for.  Other than my friends, Shiloh Morning Inn is the thing I miss most about living in Oklahoma.

The idea of buying up all the rooms and cottages for a weekend and spending it with other bloggers is wonderful!  I'd love to do it on the weekend of Dewey's Readathon (maybe a Friday, Saturday and Sunday so we can talk prior and after Readathon).  It's seriously one of my favorite places on earth, and it would be amazing to share it with good friends, good books and good food.  

I guess it might be time to find a new favorite bed and breakfast here in the Virginia/Maryland/North Carolina area... but Shiloh and it's cottages and private hot tubs (located in screened in porch areas) seems pretty rare.

Midnight Bloggiesta!

The Bloggiesta is an event that I always mean to participate in, but never do.  However, 2012 is the year I take my blogging seriously and challenge myself to be excellent... It's all very Dead Poet's Society here.  You can't see it, but I'm standing on my laptop stand yelling, "O captain, my captain", and Robin Williams is walking out the door.  I always hate to see him go...

Sorry, I got off track again.  But that's part of the reason I'm doing this Bloggiesta.  I'm just a little too easily distracted.  I've done a fairly good job of keeping up with review writing, but it's no surprise that I've fallen slightly behind.  I also have some other goals that I need to catch up on this weekend.

So here's what I hope to accomplish:

1. Write reviews for

• The Great Gatsby
• Nightfall
• Soulless
• Ali and Ramazan
• Anna and the French Kiss
• The Hunger Games (re-read)
• and any other books I finish before this weekend

2. Write a few extra bookish posts (old favorites and prepare my Sundays in Bed With... post BEFORE Sunday afternoon).

3. Catch up on some of the panels that I missed for BBPOC

4. Comment on at least 20 blogs per day.

5. Work on my blog's Facebook page (I'm hopeless at this, but I'm determined).

6. Mail off the signed copy of The Fault in Our Stars

7. Work on my Read-a-long idea and my Half-Read Readathon idea.

8. Work on my challenge idea for Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

9. Post all my 2012 reviews to Goodreads and Amazon.

10. Update my Books Read journal.

11. Update my Reading Challenges and make a post for my own Read Me Baby, 1 More Time challenge.

12. Start building my Readathon Pile O'Books.

13. Somehow accomplish all of this even though I have book club Sat evening and I'm working overnight that same evening.

I'm really looking forward to meeting some new bloggers (hopefully some that are going to BEA too!) and growing my blogging community.  Sometimes I feel I just don't put enough effort into connecting with other bloggers, and that's something I'd really like to change.

Cheers and good luck!

Miracle Review

Miracle
by Elizabeth Scott
Expected Publication: 6.05.12
From Goodreads:

 Megan survived the plane crash—but can she survive the aftermath? An intense, emotional novel from the author of The Unwritten Rule and Between Here and Forever.Megan is a miracle. At least, that’s what everyone says. Having survived a plane crash that killed everyone else on board, Megan knows she should be grateful just to be alive. But the truth is, she doesn’t feel like a miracle. In fact, she doesn’t feel anything at all. Then memories from the crash start coming back.      Scared and alone, Megan doesn’t know whom to turn to. Her entire community seems unable—or maybe unwilling—to see her as anything but Miracle Megan. Everyone except for Joe, the beautiful boy next door with a tragic past and secrets of his own. All Megan wants is for her life to get back to normal, but the harder she tries to live up to everyone’s expectations, the worse she feels. And this time, she may be falling too fast to be saved....

My Thoughts:  I've only read Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott so I haven't read her happier YA books.  I like her darker themes, and I'm a bit surprised I haven't read Grace yet, but I'm pretty sure I have it somewhere on my Kindle.  She writes about real teens in uncomfortable situations, and Megan is certainly in one as the main character of Miracle.

I found it easy to identify with Megan, how apathetic she felt towards her life after surviving the plane crash that she can't even remember.  How everyone stopped seeing her as Megan, and more as some miraculous being.  Her connection with Joe, who is also associated with events in his life rather than for anything he's ever done, felt true.  Although my favorite part of the book was Megan's friendship with Margaret, and that they both really began to see one another.  Margaret knew exactly what Megan needed, saw the trouble and despair that Megan's parents pretended not to see.

I really wish Scott had delved into Margaret's past in Vietnam, because I was interested in her character.  It's great to have a positive lesbian character in Miracle, but I just wanted her role to be a bit bigger. The fact that Margaret and her deceased partner were a devoted gay couple was not glossed over considering the small town they live in, but it's also not blown out of proportion.  Margaret's character was not a stereotype, or a token character.  I found her very compelling and would be happy to read a book about her time in Viet Nam.

There were some misses for me.  In part it's because the book is short and told from Megan's pov, we only get information as she decides to parcel it out.  I felt, at least with Joe and Megan's little brother, that certain things were too slow to be revealed, like how Joe's sister died and what was wrong with her younger brother when he was a kid.  Of course, I guess that shows how into the book I was, that I was impatient to get more information.  But it was also a bit frustrating at times.

I also had a hard time with Megan's parents.  I understood how devastating it must have been to be told your child was dead, only to be presented with a living daughter at the hospital.  It would be a miracle, and I understand their attitude toward her in the book.  But I had a struggle with their new treatment of their young son.  I think it would have been more believable if they'd continued to be overly concerned for both their children.  But that's just a minor complaint. Teensy, really.

I will definitely be reading more by Elizabeth Scott.  I find the subjects she tend to pick for her books to interesting, the books are always quick page turners (I read Living Dead Girl in one sitting at Barnes and Noble), and she always leaved me wanting just a bit more.

Miracle gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 I think it does a great job of conveying how alone Megan feels, although the girl in the picture seems a bit younger than Megan.

**Disclaimer- I briefly received the ARC of this book through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.

 

Being Friends With Boys Review

Being Friends With Boys
by Terra Elan McVoy
Expected Publication: 5.1.12
From Goodreads:

Charlotte and Oliver have been friends forever. She knows that he, Abe, and Trip consider her to be one of the guys, and she likes it that way. She likes being the friend who keeps them all together. Likes offering a girl's perspective on their love lives. Likes being the behind-the-scenes wordsmith who writes all the lyrics for the boys' band. Char has a house full of stepsisters and a past full of backstabbing (female) ex-best friends, so for her, being friends with boys is refreshingly drama-free...until it isn't any more.

When a new boy enters the scene and makes Char feel like, well, a total girl...and two of her other friends have a falling out that may or may not be related to one of them deciding he possibly wants to be more than friends with Char...being friends with all these boys suddenly becomes a lot more complicated.

My Thoughts: I was immediately drawn to this book because of the title. I kind of agree, being friends with boys usually does mean less drama, but in Charlotte's case that's not so true anymore.

This book is all about Char and her relationship with the many boys in her life. She and Oliver have been friends for years, and when he starts a band he gets Char to write the song lyrics and manage the band. Then there's Trip, whom she's quickly gotten close to as a friend, but throws her for a tailspin when he quits the band. New boys enter the her life as she helps find new members for Sad Jackal.

I loved how real this book is, Char has complicated, but realistic, relationships with those around her. Although a lot of the focus is on her friendship with boys, we also get to see insights into her family life. Her older sister is away at college, and now it's just her and her stepsisters. It's not a Cinderella story, but up until recently Char hasn't spent much time with them. I love the relationship they build, and I think it shows that while boys can be great friends, sometimes a girl just needs some girlfriends too.

Because Char's boys are all kinds of drama in the book. Oliver has a fragile ego, and the one thing I disliked about the book is how often Char bends to his and other friends needs. It really takes awhile, and some growing up on Char's part, for her to start living her own life and not just be a people pleaser. Of course, I am a people pleaser myself so maybe that's why I was so upset with Char putting so many people before herself.

Trip and Char have a notebook they pass back and forth, which was easily my favorite part of the book (except for the scene when they write Hansel and Gretel's Crumbs). In the notebook they are able to communicate in ways that I don't think most boy/girl friends do. But even with the notebook there's still some misunderstands and miscommunication. Because it turns out boys and girls are different.

When her friendship with some of her boys starts to crumble, Char begins to go outside her comfort zone. She makes new friends, which is both good and bad. Good, because Char needs to expand herself more, and bad because Char tends to hide from her problems. When friendships get rough, she walks away from the situation instead of confronting it. Again, totally something I do. And something I find annoying about myself too.

Being Friends With Boys was not exactly what I expected, but it was better because it was real. I really loved Char's band, and her new friends, but most importantly I loved the ending, even if it felt a bit rushed.


Being Friends With Boys gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

I know I gave it a 4 on Goodreads, but I usually round up on that site.  I really wish they used half star ratings... *sigh*

The cover gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

 It's okay, but pretty generic and I don't feel it really has anything to do with the book.  I'd like to see something different on the final copy.  Because this was an arc, I don't know if that's the final cover. 

*I received a copy of this ARC as part of the Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.25.11 Sundays In Bed With...

Sorry this is so late, but allergies kept me in bed with... Sleep!  But with no further ado, I'm spending this Sunday In Bed With...

Cozy Mysteries!

Okay, bear with me while I gush a little.  Friday was a very busy, hectic day for me, but I was determined to go to my first ever author signing, so I met up with Kim from On The Wings of Books at the Short Pump Barnes and Noble to meet Ellery Adams and Lorraine Bartlett/Lorna Barrett/LL Bartlett.  Ellery Adams is also one half of Lucy Arlington (the other author that makes up Lucy Arlington lives in Bermuda), whose first book is Buried in a Book.

Lorna Barrett is on the left, and I was excited to pick up the first in her new series A Crafty Killing, as well as the second book in the Booktown series, Bookmarked for Death.  It turns out Lorna is writing powerhouse- she writes more on vacations then most people write in a lifetime.  In addition to the 3 known aliases she writes under, there's a 4th mystery one she won't, and probably can't, reveal.  Which is kind of cool for a mystery author.  

Ellery Adams is on the right, and she was so amazing and funny.  Kim and I were pretty nervous, but she completely set us at ease, and it was fun hearing her talk about fellow authors that have been to the Virginia Festival of the Book (sadly, it was too late for Kim and I to attend, but we are so on board next year). I picked up The Last Word, which is the 3rd book in her Books by the Bay series, and picked up Buried in a Book that she helped co-author.  We'd actually read her book A Killer Plot for book club last year, so I can't wait to tell the other book club members this upcoming weekend about the book signing.

I'm so glad I went to this book signing!  I'm also really glad it was authors that I've actually already read and enjoyed.  I feel so much more relaxed about going to BEA and meeting authors there, since Lorraine and Ellery were so... normal.  Well, normal by book lover's standards. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was definitely better that I could have imagined.  Plus we got swag bags full of cool book marks, buttons, and more.  My cat Riley particularly liked the ribbon on some of the plastic bags....

Speaking of Riley, he's gone all Career Tribute on me, and this is what he's spending his Sundays In Bed With:

Should I be worried?  

So what book's in your bed this Sunday?  

Comment below, or link to your own Sundays In Bed With post! 

Feature and Follow #89

Thought I'd participate this week, as I'm excited that I'm actually going to get to meet some of my fellow bloggers at BEA in June!  So if you give me a follow, let me know, I'll follow you back.  And if you just want some comment love, I can do that too. :)

And if you want to participate, just head over to Parajunkee's View or Alison Can Read, give them a follow, and then follow this week's featured blogger at Short and Sweet.

The question this week is:

Q: What is the longest book you’ve read? What are your favorite 600+ page reads?

I'm not sure what the all time longest book I've ever read is, but since I've been keeping track on Goodreads,  the longest book is Under the Dome by Stephen King, followed closely by A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin.  I would definitely categorize both as favorite 600+ reads.

 I like long books, and I cannot lie, you other readers can't deny... sorry, I'm overtired this morning from being out until 3am watching Hunger Games.  

I've read almost every book ever written by King, so I'd have to include his books in my favorites, but Martin is quickly becoming a new favorite, now that I'm on chunkster #3 in his Song of Fire and Ice series.  I have a feeling I'll see a lot of Diana Gabaldon books on here, and I did read and enjoy her first book in the Outlander series (even if Dragonfly in Amber is lingering on my shelves).

 Other 600+ page books I've enjoyed in the past couple of years:

The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Fallout by Ellen Hopkins (I'm not sure this counts 100% because it's written in verse so it's a much faster read... but it's still over 600 pages!) 

Here's some of the longest books I've read according to Goodreads:

Kate's bookshelf: read

Kate's favorite books »

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Masque of the Red Death Review

Masque of the Red Death
by Bethany Griffin
Expected Publication: 4.24.12
From Goodreads:

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

My Thoughts:  I was so excited when I read the summary for this book!  I have no idea why, other than the fact that I am a morbid midnight book girl, but I have an intense interest in plagues.  Weird, right?  And like a good horror fan, I dig all things Poe.  So a YA book that updates a Poe story?  I am so with that.

This is not just a simple retelling of a Poe story, this is Poe meets Moulin Rouge meets sci fi.  Everything is decadence and decay, with a bit of steam punk thrown in. I'm not sure this is 100% steam punk, but there's air ships and steam carriages and balloons. And there's a parasol on the cover, which is pretty much all I know to look for in the steam punk genre.  I imagine some readers will have issues with the time/period setting, since it's kind of a mish mash of the past and the present, but I think it works in this story.  Plus, I don't read for realism, I read to get out of my head and into a new world.  Masque of the Red Death definitely feels both familiar and alien, which I liked.

Araby is the daughter of a very important scientist, one who has helped keep the plague at bay- at least for those that shadowy Prince Prospero wants kept alive, but most of what defines her throughout the book is that she is the former sister of dead twin brother Finn.  Because she feels guilt over his death, Araby is all about denying herself happiness, and is careful not to experience anything that Finn never got a chance to do.

This does not apply to drugs though.  Araby does drugs to numb herself, even as she dresses in skimpy clothes (the idea is to show your arms and legs as much as possible to prove you aren't diseased) and gorgeous corsets and lounges around the most popular club in the Debauchery District. Honestly, the drug use was probably the only part of the book that I didn't really enjoy, but I do think it adds to the overall decadent tone that Araby sets in the beginning. It doesn't feel like it's advocating drug use, but it also doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of consequences for all the drug use going on either.

Everyone, and by everyone I mean the rich people, wear masks constantly to protect them from the plague.  Imagine a society where your nose and mouth are always covered, it would be hard not to feel detached from each other.  Of course, I'd be fine since my eyes are my best feature.  But it'd be weird to not be able to see people's mouths and things like sneezing are never addressed. I think the masks add to the mystery and isolation that surrounds the characters.  Her mask helps numb Araby to the world around her.

But things happen, and suddenly Araby begins to not feel so numb.

And of course that's partly due to the new boys in her life.  Because what's a YA novel without some yummy boys?

First there's poor, but sexy and tattooed Will.  They start of strong and sexy because he's the one that checks the ladies coming into the club, so there's lots of lingering caresses and whispers. Will's also raising his two adorable moppet siblings. Who can resist a sexy guy that's also in touch with his nurturing side?

Then there's Elliot.  He's the older brother of Araby's bff April.  I didn't know what to think about him at first, because it seemed clear to me that Will was the main love interest, but I have to say Elliot won me over.  He's a bit broken, a bit radical, but the passion that he feels towards wanting to end his uncle's control over the city and his crusade to get masks to the poor is kind of attractive.  He and Araby have a slow burn, compared to the white hot flash that she and Will have, so I'm a bit torn. Towards the end of the book I was kind of over Will.  I mean, I wished him well, but I felt like I might want to board the Team Elliot band wagon.  We'll see.

Overall this was a fast paced read for me.  I wasn't sure I liked Araby in the beginning.  First there's her name, which conjures up the old song The Sheik of Araby in my head which plays over and over again anytime her name is mentioned.  In fact, it's playing right now.  This probably won't be a problem for most of the readers since not a whole lot of people under the age of 70 even know it.  But I also had a problem with her drug use.  I'm just not a fan, and I thought it was at odds with her pledge to not experience anything her twin wasn't around to enjoy.  But once Araby started to get over herself, and her own loss, and began to really care about people and events going on around her, I was able to connect with her. 

I didn't sit down and read this book in one sitting, but it's the kind of book you can devour.  There's a lot of action, not just feelings and pretty dresses.  Araby, Will and Elliot don't just sit around, sighing and looking attractive.  They are all balancing on a very thin wire, one constantly shaken by death and danger.  So while there is a love triangle, there's also a real plot underneath it. 

Masque of the Red Death gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I love it!  I'd seriously buy this book summary unseen just based on title and cover art.

Disclaimer: I briefly received a copy of this book for review as part of an ARC tour in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Girl In The Green Raincoat Review

The Girl in the Green Raincoat 
by Laura Lippman
From Goodreads:

In the third trimester of her pregnancy, Baltimore private investigator Tess Monaghan is under doctor's orders to remain immobile. Bored and restless, reduced to watching the world go by outside her window, she takes small comfort in the mundane events she observes . . . like the young woman in a green raincoat who walks her dog at the same time every day. Then one day the dog is running free and its owner is nowhere to be seen. Certain that something is terribly wrong, and incapable of leaving well enough alone, Tess is determined to get to the bottom of the dog walker's abrupt disappearance, even if she must do so from her own bedroom. But her inquisitiveness is about to fling open a dangerous Pandora's box of past crimes and troubling deaths . . . and she's not only putting her own life in jeopardy but also her unborn child's.
Previously serialized in the New York Times, and now published in book form for the very first time, The Girl in the Green Raincoat is a masterful Hitchcockian thriller from one of the very best in the business: multiple award-winner Laura Lippman.

My Thoughts: This is my first Lippman novel, and despite the fact that this is a book that is part of a series I haven't read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the characters were interesting, often fun and quirky, and I was equally curious about the girl in the green raincoat. Although there were some plot twists I saw coming, I didn't have everything figured out, and what I did expect still made for a great read. I plan on reading more Lippman novels in the future. And I'll be buying my own copy of this book because I adore the cover!  It was also a nice treat to read a book completely out of order, as this is book #11 in the Tess Monaghan series but my very first.  I didn't feel lost or left out, and felt an immediate connection to the characters.  Makes for a great rainy day read, and it's short enough to be a good addition to any Readathon pile. 
  
Speaking of Readathon, Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon is coming up soon!  I need to start working on my own pile o'books!

The Girl in the Green Raincoat gets a Midnight Book Rating of:  

Any series you crashed into the middle of?

3.18.12 Sundays in Bed With...

I'm spending Sunday morning in bed with...

Being Friends With Boys

by Terra Elan McVoy

I'm doing the ARC tour for this, and so far so good!  It's hard not to love the title.  My favorite part of the book so far?  Charlotte, the main character, is just a so-so student.  While I appreciate all the YA books with smart straight A teens, it's nice to see a girl who's just middling in the grades department.  

Sorry this post is so late, but I spent all day Saturday watching movies and eating, and even had a couple bottles of Guinness (and way too many cans of soda), so I really did not want to get up this morning  Sadly, I couldn't stay abed as long as I would have liked, but the second the Hubs leaves to mow the lawn, I'm sneaking back to bed with this book!

 

So what book's in your bed this Sunday?  

Comment below, or link to your own Sundays In Bed With post! 

St. Paddy's Day!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

How are you going to celebrate?

Drinking green beer?

Guinness?  A splash of Bailey's in your morning cup of coffee?

Parades and bars and wearing o' the green?

I'm having my friend Kim, from On the Wings of Books, over to watch Irish movies and drink green shakes.  I'll probably have some Guinness tonight in honor of me da.  But here are the movies Kim and I are going to watch:

Leap Year

Once - best film ever, go watch it now, my post will wait.

Boondock Saints*

Circle of Friends (not originally part of the line up, but Courtney from Abducted by Books reminded me of it, and she's planning on watching all of the above except Boondock Saints)

Dancing on Dangerous Ground- based on the Irish myth of Diarmuid and Grania, a present to myself.

Lord of the Dance- a gift for my mom, although I love it too, despite Michael Flatley's arrogance.

My mom also gave me the Irish Princess necklace that I artistically and purposely draped over Flatley's weird chest.

*Boondock Saints stars the lovely Sean Patrick Flanery and the yummy Norman Reedus, of Walking Dead fame.  

Here's something else that I want to get for myself: 

And because I haven't properly introduced my gorgeous great nephew, Weston Emerson:

 (not ready for his close-up)

But it's his hair that makes him so delicious, so here's better pic:

See those highlights?!  He is so ready for his first boy band mall gig!

So go, have a great St. Paddy's Day!  Curl up with a Maeve Binchy book, or go drink til you puke green!