Happy Happy Happy

I never thought the last book of 2013 that I would read would be written by a well known, bearded redneck from the popular T.V show, Duck Dynasty.  Phil Robertson's book was a one day read, started it at bedtime, read for a few hours, picked it back up in the morning and finished reading it a few hours later.  Oh I wish I could have days off more often just for the purpose of curling up with a good book.  Now that I have read this book, I am sure I will have to delve into the other two that came with it as a boxed set in Walmart, which Nolan picked up for his dad for Christmas.  Brett says Uncle Si's book is a little harder to get through but I'm sure I will manage.

I had no idea that Phil Robertson was born again Christian.  I mean I've watched the shows on t.v and I do realize that the family does have Christian values but I assumed that the patriarch of the family must have been on the straight and narrow path from the time he was born.  The book told the tale of what his early adulthood years were like for he, Miss Kay and their young sons before he decided to live for the Lord. 

I've had mixed feelings about Phil Robertson over the holiday season due to the media jumping on something he said about people living alternative lifestyles.  I agree with the man, I also believe this kind of living is not how God intended his children to live their lives.  I guess I will have to actually listen to what he said rather than speculate because I'm not sure exactly just HOW he said it to the public, but it was enough for A&E to temporarily ban the man from his hit T.V. show and then reinstate him after public outrage.  Makes me wonder whether the whole thing was set up to grab more viewers before the next season airs. 

After reading the book and learning more about the family as a whole, I want to believe that they really are good people and that the whole thing was not staged for publicity.  Reading the book makes me want to watch more episodes of the show as I have not been an avid viewer like some people I know.  I enjoyed the easy writing style and simply enjoy autbiographical books on a whole, no matter who the book is about.  While my husband could picture the man sitting there in front of him talking as he read the book, I couldn't quite get the visual just because I haven't watched enough of the show to really be familiar with Phil's mannerisms or the fact that he says 'Happy Happy Happy' as the book's title indicates. 

Whether you love him or hate him, or could just care less about him, go and read his book, it was
inspirational to read about what this family has accomplished before they were famous. 

If you read nothing else before you die, read THIS series!!!!

It's been awhile since I've read a really good book.  A  book so good that I immediately wanted to hop on the computer and blog about it.  (Of course, at the time, I was at my cabin....no internet....no blog post...still, no excuse, I should have written this blog post at least a month ago!  The bonus about reading this book back in August was this:

There were THREE more books already available in the series that this book was a part of!!  And even better....the books were available to purchase at a reduced price in good 'ol Costco!

Back in the spring, a friend of mine, mentioned this series of fiction books to me and I made a note in my Iphone to order them from our local library.  She was headed to Regina, to pick up the latest book in this series for a mutual friend.  She found the book at the store the author owned and said I would LOVE this store.  She said it was filled with Butterflies when you walk in.  Now, I have a HUGE list of books in my phone waiting to be ordered from the library so I knew it would be awhile before I actually ordered these books.  However, I knew that this series of books should and would take priority over the rest as I was told the author was a local Saskatchewan artist.  In case you haven't realized, I love Canadian books and Saskatchewan books are even better!  She also told me that his books take place right in the city of Regina.  Thinking back, I don't know why I waited at all to read these books, but I did and this is how it came to be that I finally did read them.

Life went on, spring turned into summer.  I had planned for a few months that I was taking the entire summer off from babysitting in my home.  I knew I would have plenty of time to read over this vacation.  July went by quickly.  I read a few books, tried to get back into reading Marie Calder's series about post WWII in Germany where her father was stationed.  I did finish one book in that series.  Then I moved on to a book I picked up at the red barn one weekend.  The title caught my eye as being one of the books in my Iphone 'to order' list.  It was The Postmistress by a gal named Sarah Blake.  That book was worth reading as well.

I read a few more romance type of novels, none really stood out as being that great.  At the end of July, we were taking our oldest son into Regina for the Rams' football camp.  We stopped at Chapters.  I browsed around knowing I certainly did not NEED to buy any books.  I came across the series of books I recalled my friend speaking of.

I picked up a copy of Pewter Angels by Henry K. Ripplinger, author of The Angelic Letters series.  I read the back of the book.  I knew that I would enjoy it and so I bought it.  After dropping our son off at football camp, my husband, 12 year old son and I ventured on to visit friends in Manitoba at their summer cabin.  I read half the book on the way there.  I told my this other friend about the series.  She had picked up the same book in Costco the week before, while the Author was signing the books! She hadn't started it yet.  I told her she had better get busy!  I knew that she of all my friends, would enjoy this book the most!

After our visit to Manitoba, we were headed back to Regina to pick up our son.  I also picked up books two, three and four of the Angelic Letters series in Costco.  I was all set for at least another week of reading!  We were off to Cypress Hills for a family reunion.  There were a few hours of driving ahead.  I was able to get halfway through book two by the end of the weekend.

Back at our cabin, I was enjoying the remaining books, trying to make them last longer, but knowing that soon, I would be finished the fourth book and would have to wait like the rest of Mr. Ripplinger's fans, for what we thought was the fifth and final book in this life changing series!  I was captivated by the easy flowing, but suspenseful inspirational romance, chalked full of important life lessons.  The characters seemed to be alive and real to me. 

I texted back and forth with my Manitoba friend who was now hooked on the series as well!  She, being a very devout catholic was enjoying the books, probably moreso than I was!  The only complaint we had, other than the wait for book five, was the fact that the grammar and punctuation needed some work.  Considering that these books were self published, we both agreed that overall, the look and feel of the book were very professional, the story was by far, one of the best we had ever had the pleasure of reading, and that we were now fans.  We wanted to visit Regina, see Mr. Ripplinger's store and gallery, eat at his cafe, and maybe one day, I thought I could meet him and have him sign my books as well.

Enter social media.  I 'liked' the Henry Ripplinger Facebook page.  I even sent the moderator a private message, thanking Henry for writing such an inspiring series of novels which I felt could be enjoyed by people of all ages, faiths and walks of life.  I also expressed my concern over the minor typesetting issues which increased as the series grew.  Book four had many more errors than book one.  I tried to do this in a kind way but wanted his people to know that these books were amazing and that I was recommending them to everyone I spoke with. 

The very next morning, my phone rang. This was back in September.  I was back to work.  I was sitting in my living room, feeding my new charge her bottle when I saw the telephone number come up on my television screen.  It was Henry K. Ripplinger!  How could that possibly be??? 

But it was, and while I couldn't answer the phone due to a now sleeping baby on my lap, my cell phone was close by.  I grabbed my phone and proceeded to text my friend, telling her she wouldn't believe it, but Henry Ripplinger just called my house!   Then moments later, in mid text.... my cell phone was ringing too!  This best selling, Canadian novelist was on the phone, calling my number!  I quickly hit the 'answer' button, thinking to myself, this man seems to have all the answers to life's questions....

Henry introduced himself, asking if now was a good time to chat.  No time like the present, I thought!  He explained that he had received my message and asked if I was still willing to offer my proofreading services to him.  Was I?

He went on to say that book four was so popular that a second printing was taking place in three weeks and was there any way that I could re-read this book and submit to him, any changes that I could suggest. 

I got right to work. 

Two weeks later, I had finished reading the book for the second time. I probably learned more and got more out of it, that I did the first time!  I am not one who generally reads a book twice, although I have kept plenty of them just in case!  My copy was marked up, highlighted and now it was time to type up all my findings and send them off to Henry.  I was running out of time and to type this all up would take hours!  Desk work is not for me.  My back hurts, my wrists burn, but there was a job to be done.  I submitted a few chapters to Henry, mentioning that in the future, perhaps if I had a computerized copy where I could highlight any changes, that would be less time consuming.  He agreed.  But I continued with my project in the meantime as he only had a PDF file which could not be changed.

When I was finished, Henry emailed me, like he had been doing throughout the assignment, thanking me for my attention to detail.  He did not realize the extent of the effort I was putting into this.  There wouldn't be a way to include all the punctuation in the second printing as he explained to me that each 'change' or 'correction' made to the copy that the printers already have on hand, costs money.  In the end, he submitted 80 corrections. 

We spoke on the phone a couple of weeks ago, before he was leaving for the Maritime provinces to continue his book signing tour with Costco.  He was getting a package ready for me, to thank me for my help.  He also indicated that a sixth book was in the works.  He asked me if I would be willing to assist with the proofreading once the fifth book was finished.  I know he's hard at work right now, writing the ending to that book.  By the new year, I should be getting a sneak peak at what is in store for Jenny and Henry.  I can not wait!!!!  I am honored to be a small part of this process, it really is a lifelong dream of mine.  I am contributing to a wonderful end result of a book.  I may not be the one God inspired to write The Angelic Letters Series, but I do believe I can help make book five the best it can be. 

I am not a perfect proofreader by any means.  I recently took an online grammar test and only scored 91 percent!  But I do have a really good eye.  One day, perhaps I will write my own book but for now, this is a good place to start! 

I didn't reveal a whole lot here in my blogpost that indicates what I found so amazing about these books.  I want YOU to discover that for yourself.  We should all be so blessed to have a Mr. Engelmann in our lives to mentor us on our spiritual journey to becoming closer to God.  These books are probably the next best thing to personally knowing someone like that in our day to day lives, because lets face it, those folks are few and far between in this day and age in society.  God is real and He is out there, waiting to be known by us all.  You can find Him in these books and ultimately, find Him in your own self.   What are you waiting for?  Borrow a copy from your library, or from a friend.  Go buy one at Costco!  Only $12!!!  Get hooked on these books like so many others I know! 

And if you are local to Saskatchewan, you will have to check out Henry's in Regina.  It's been around for two decades already and I did not know this wonderful store/gallery/cafe even existed.  Some ladies and I checked it out two weeks ago.  The food was amazing!  The atmosphere was relaxing.  I will be going back there to browse around some more because we were pressed for time that day.  Henry's beautiful prairie art work, his books and so much more is available there.  You could say it's almost a little piece of heaven in itself!    Here is a link to the website:

 http://www.henrysonline.ca/default.html

Happy reading!

On the Isand by Tracey Garvis Graves

Let me tell you a litte something about an author I just had to pleasure of meeting online the other day. After contacting Tracey Garvis Graves about the defective book I was in the middle of reading on Monday evening, she graciously apologized for the inconvenience of what happened during an otherwise amazing reading experience! Not only that, she quickly offered to send me an autographed copy of her novel, On the Island and if I was interested, a free e-version of the book as well so that I could pick up where I left off the night before! As the book began to upload into my kindle app on my IPhone, I waited in anticipation for the download to finish. We were almost home from our trip to Regina. I knew of all the boring, but necessary tasks that awaited me at home upon arrival. Things that would ultimately need to be started and completed before I would get a chance with my beloved book later in the evening! After two loads of laundry were completed, dishes in the dishwasher put away, purchases from our five day excursion to Regina were shoved wherever I could find room for them, 225 papers delivered and two attention starved cats were dealt with, I, with a fully charged I phone, hopped into my cozy bed and began to read. About three hours later, the book was finished and although very happy with the novel's ending, I desperately wanted more. You know a book is devine when you wish it didn't have to end! TJ and Anna, survive not only life on a deserted island, but back in the real world where their relationship is tested to the max. They finally marry towards the end of the book on a winter day in March! Yay for them, as my own wedding anniversary is March 25. Half our wedding guests couldn't make the wedding due to the sudden snowstorm so it may as well have been in front of a justice of the peace like TJ and Anna! Love conquers all, and read 'On the Island'. What a refreshing read after struggling to get through all three books in the Fifty Shades trilogy! And now, I anxiously and thankfully await to receive my very own signed copy from Tracey. Oh what a happy day it will be. To be perfectly honest, there are not many books that I have or will reread. However, I do, for some reason own more than my fair share of books, both fiction and non. I will read this book again, no doubt in my mind! In fact, it may become the start of a new summer tradition for me. When I was a kid, each year during the summer I would read one of my favorite books by Ann. M. Martin. 'Bummer Summer' was a great summer read for an 11 year old! Perhaps 'On the Island' will be my new summer read, one that I will take pleasure in each and every year, while laying on the beach! I may even save my original copy which is missing a few pagse! There is a story behind it! One I will forever love to tell!! Thank you Tracey Garvis Graves for a great book! Wishing you the success and satisfaction of authoring many more books in your bright future as a novelist!!

A Cliffhanger Like No Other!!!!

Have you ever been reading a perfect, hot summer's day, lay on the beach sort of book, with a cover to match,that you just can't put down and all of a sudden the plot seems to leap out into left field and leave you wondering if you missed something or perhaps the main character of the novel is now dreaming? But no.... You read ahead and you are a bit peeved that an otherwise awesome read by a first time novelist to boot, has fast forwarded a bit too quickly for your liking? You wanted TJ and Anna to remain on that deserted island just a little bit longer! Perhaps just one more sex scene, (even though you struggled to finish that nonsense written by E.L James!) First the mismatched couple is on the beach and the next page they are time warped off of that beach and into a hospital? How does an author who was showing so much promise even think she can get away with this?! You read just a little bit more, flip back a few pages, and take a quick glance at the page number just to test the ridiculous theory you have about half the book being missing and VOILA!!! There is the proof! Page 154 leads to page 155 in your average novel but not in this case! Sadly, you stare at the page beside page 154 and there you have it! Page 187! Of course! Okay so I know I purchased this book impulsively during my virginal voyage into Costco on Saturday. (Yes I am probably the only 38 year old housewife who runs a daycare to boot, who has never shopped Costco.). Saturday's shopping expedition ended up with a shiny new executive membership card and three hundred dollars less in my bank account. Oh yeah...and a copy of an amazing, yet defective, cruel joke of a literary masterpiece! I know Costco is supposed to be a discount store but only getting half the book for a fraction of the price? Must be my bad luck! And now, here I am, on my IPhone, typing up a rant/review about Tracey Garvis Grave's best selling, originally self published e-book, On The Island. At least I'm still in Regina, only minutes from the Costco store where I found this book. I spent over two hundred bucks at Chapters in the past week and did not come across this book there? Not sure how I could have missed the bright blue cover with the synopsis on the back that makes you think of a modern twist on a classic Brooke Shields movie, The Blue Lagoon. My phone is about to go dead and my boys will soon be home from the movie at the IMAX so I will sum this one up by saying "Read this book! But be sure to check the number of pages before you pay the money!". Tracey Garvis Graves will be on my favorite author list from now until the end of time! This book is by far superior to the trilogy that I don't think I need to name here. Those books have no substance in comparison! I'm still a bit choked that I can't finish my book tonight!

Still reading!

It's been a long time since I've logged on to this website. Ignored blogs and over a year of pain, emotional and physical, later, I am back to briefly mention some local Saskatchewan authors that I have discovered recently. An oldie, but a goodie, Max Braithwaite, born in 1911, passed on in 1995, has written quite a number of books back in his day, one of which I discovered while perusing the shelves at McNally Robinson this past March, in Saskatoon. The book 'Why Shoot the Teacher' apparently was even made into a movie, albeit a Canadian low budget production I assume, but one that some schools in the province used in their ciricculum, at least back in the nineties anyway! I was told by a friend that this movie is often featured on SCN from time to time so I will try and scope it out this summer as I really enjoyed the book, written in the sixties I believe. I've ordered a couple of others from the good old public library and will update as I read them! 'Why Shoot the Teacher' was not as good as MacDonald Coleman's books, another oldie but goodie that I must have mentioned on this blog quite some time ago! Basically, the book details Mr. Braithwaite's first year of teaching in a one room schoolhouse back in 1933. Timeless and soon to be forgotten history of our province's beginnings. Reading this book allowed me to imagine what it must have been like not only for the teacher, but the students in these one room schools which were scattered across the province back in the day. My grandparents were educated in this fashion and now they are both gone, unable to tell their family what it was like growing up in that era. Mary Anne Brockman came through with her other two books in her series about a nun and the women who knew and loved her. I have read the fourth book and must take the time to read her third book! Not sure why I read them out of order but regardless, I do enjoy her books and look forward to more material from this author! Another book which made me smile this year was '2012--it actually happened!', the name of the author escapes me at this time, Robert Dowd perhaps? This book, I found in the local section, however the author hails from Southeastern Manitiba if I remember correctly. The book was obviously the first work of fiction written by this man, and the language and details inside definitely are indicative of material written by the male gender, but it was a fun read, based on what might happen if the word does end in 2012 like the Mayan's are predicting! A Saskatoon author, Wes Funk has written some books which I also discovered in the local section of McNally's back in March are nice Saskatchewan reads. While the character's I've met are of the gay persuasion, if you don't mind reading about this lifestyle, Wes Funk describes many Saskatchewan locales in his work, the chinese restaurant in his book 'Dead Rock Stars' reminds me of the one I grew up with in my small Saskatchewan town. Baggage was the other book of his that I read and I do have a copy of another one of his here from the library which I need to get busy with. I will for sure be reading more of his material when it is pubished! I believe someone mentioned the other day that Gail Bowen has a new book out, must look into that at the library! I just finished Jodi Picoult's latest, Lone Wolf. It mentioned Saskatchewan in the final chapter! Karen Kingsbury finished off her series about Bailey Flanigan, quite popular among the teen scene with 'team Cody' and 'team Brandon'. I won't say who is the lucky man to marry Bailey in the end! I have books waiting to be read by a couple other authors.....Gayleen Froese....and another one titled Cleavage, again, the author's name has flown out the window today. My mind has been acting strange since I've started taking another medication to combat my chronic neuropathy. Lyrica is the new drug I am sampling these days. I finally was able to see a neurologist this month. A long time in the making. I am on the wait list to see a geneticist in Saskatoon and I am still waiting to find a doctor knowledgable in the area of Ehler's Danlos Hypermobility type. My teeth have shifted around in my mouth so bad that the appliance Dr. Kennedy made for me in the nineties will not fit in my mouth anymore. I've spent thousands on TMJ treatment that hasn't dulled the pain and I have become more and more isolated from my friends over the past year. You really find out fast who your friends are when something life changing happens to you. Overall though I am feeling better than I was a year ago, well maybe about the same. It was a year ago I experienced some pain relief when the pinching on a nerve in my neck subsided somewhat. I had some minor reprieve from the pain over May, June and July but come late summer I was in a lot more pain and it's been like that since. The drugs I am offered by doctors seem to kill my sex drive and make me gain weight, great when your husband of 17 years decides to join an online dating website for married folk. Ashley Madison entered my life last September and things have not been the same since. I'm not sure whether the weather is playing a role in the temporary pain relief or if it is just coincidence. Come the fall if I am still in the same amount of pain, Dr. Ijaz in Regina will refer me for an MRI. Again, something I really needed a year ago. Thank God for books to escape my real life. It has not been a fun year. I kind of miss the life I was beginning to live in 2010. The office job, the people who worked in the office, but if I am supposed to be a caregiver, then so be it. Things could always be worse. I learned that in 2011, no doubt about it. 2011 was the worst year of my life and if God wants the world to end in 2012, more power to him! I'm ready. Ready to be in a place without adultery, without pain, without the frustration I've felt this year.

Cleavage

Cleavage was the book I picked to finish last night. It is written by Thianna Bischoff who was born and raised in Calgary. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it took me awhile to get into it. Once I got past the visual effects the author used in this novel, ie: postcards with real Canadian stamps on them, a resume format of the main character, a cancer patient, notes between friends, and excerpts out of the dictionary, I found myself wanting to keep reading. The book is a quick read and I found myself wanting to know more, like it ended too soon once it did. Leah and her boyfriend Justin are the main characters, athough the novel is written from Leah's point of view. She found herself diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 24. The novel deals with her recovery and the worry one would feel after being deemed cancer free but knowing it can be a ticking time bomb under the surface waiting to strike again is evident in Bischoff's writing. Anyone can relate to this book since everyone has been touched some way by cancer at some point in their lives. I am going to keep watching for more novels from this young lady who from what I read in her book is ten years younger than I am, so there should be plenty of more work from her in years to come!