How many books did you read last year??

Saw this interesting article on yahoo today stating that one in four Americans read ZERO books last year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070821/ap_on_re_us/reading_habits_ap_poll

Link to the artical is above. Anyhow I find that quite interesting wonder what that is saying about our country? So how many books would you way you read last year?

I don't keep count but I would guess mine would be around 100 or so.

Ethel's Chocolate Lounge

So my friend and coworker went to Chicago over the weekend to visit her daughter. I jokingly told her to remember to bring me a surprise. She came back with some chocolate from someplace called Ethel's Chocolate lounge.

This place sounds relly cool. It's in the form of Starbucks if you will except their specialty of course is chocolate. The website if you want to check it out is http://www.ethelschocolate.com

They have several locations in and around the Chicago area and according to their web site they are also located in Las Vegas. Sounds like a special way to spend an afternoon with your girlfriends . The chocolate covered strawberries look Divine and the fondue sounds YUMMY!!!

If you live in or around any of these shops check it out if you get a chance and let me know what you think.

BTW my friend brought me a hunk of milk chocolate with cashews and some dark chocolate with nuts and dried fruit mixed in. Both were YUMMY.

Weekend Plans

Hey all--

Thank goodness the weekend is finally here. It has been a long busy week in my neck of the woods and I plan to just chill on the weekend. Don't have any big plans or anything....just not working.

May try and catch a movie tomorrow. I kind of want to see Hairspray...not sure what else is playing.

Tonight I am going by the bookstore to see if they have gotten the new RT in. Checked earlier in the week and the old one was still there. Also usually set for an hour or so and read all the new magazines that catch my eye. One has to stay on top of all the celebrity gossip and such you know.

I have been a bad blogger this week. I had planned to post alot more but time just got away from me. Hopefully I will do better next week.

So does anyone have any big plans for the weekend? If so please share. I hope you all have a relaxing and restful couple of days off. Oh and you coffee lover's don't forget that Monday is free iced coffee day at McDonalds. See you all on Monday!!!!

Monday freebies...

I tried to post this here yesterday but the blogger was down...so will try again today.

I admit it I am a coffee junkie. Have been getting my daily java jolt for the past couple of weeks at McDonald's. They have this new iced coffee that tastes YUMMY. In my area it comes in three flavors regular, vanilla and hazelnut (surprisingly my favorite) Anyway when I went to get my fix yesterday morning I learned that every Monday in august is free iced coffee Monday. You can get a Medium for free and I don't think you need to buy anything either because when I ordered my large the clerk informed me that you could get a medium for free. I went ahead and got my usual but got the free one and gave it to a coworker. Have to admit that I made another stop on the way home and got a free one for me.

So anyhow if you like iced coffee, give McDonald's a try on the next three Monday's in August. You can't beat free...wish Starbucks would have this type of offer. Enjoy!!!!

James Patterson's latest The Quickie can easily be read in one setting.

Lauren Stillwell desides to surprise her husband for lunch, however the surprise is on her as on her way to his office she spots him walking down the street with a pretty blonde and entering a hotel. Later that evening she gives him a chance to explain things when she askes what he did for lunch. He lies and says he had a sandwich at his desk.

Feeling betrayed Lauren soon desides to have a "quickie "of her own with a coworker who has been flirting with her for months. One thing leads to another and Lauren's fling soon ends up dead and she is in the middle of the investigation of his death. to make matters worse Lauren strongly suspects her husband is the killer.

This book is full of twists and turns that the reader won't see coming. Patterson's style of writing in very short chapters will keep the reader turning pages well into the night.

Although this book has strong romance elements this book is not a romance but more of a mystery who done it type thing. As a romance reader I normally don't like a cheating story line but it does work well in this story and makes one think what would you do and how far would you go to save someone you loved? The Quickie is the latest example of why Patterson is at the top of his game and always on the best seller lists. His fans will snap up this book fast and he should acquire new readers to his work as well.

I am anxiously awaiting his next release September 11th called You've Been Warned.

Upcoming releases

So what new releases are you looking forward to this August? Off the top of my head I can think of three for sure that are on my list.



1.Devil May Cry, Shrrilyn Kenyon's new Dark-Hunter book out August 6th.

2. Force Of Nature, Suzanne Brockmann's new Troubleshooter book out Augues 13th.



Suz has a cool count down to the release of Force Of Nature going on at her web site.

Here is the link:



http://www.suzannebrockmann.com/foncountdown.htm

Count down to Force Of Nature


Her countdowns always feature cool tid bits about writing the book, the cast of characters and such and I think she even has a contest or two as well so check it out if this type of thing interests you.



3. Die For Me by Karen Rose out August 28th



I am sure my list will be longer than 3 but I haven't had a chance to set down with my latest issue of RT yet.



So what new releases have made your August must buy list?

Another movie and America's Got Talent

So last night I watched another movie. This time it was The Queen starring Helen Mirren. I had wanted to see this at the theater but never got around to going so I rented it last night.

Anyway I enjoyed the movie although it wasn't really what I was expecting. I was expecting a story to tell of The Queen of England's life. I suppose it does but only for a very brief period of time. Basically the story is about Tony Blair the Prime Minister of England...elected in May of 1997 and The Queen's interaction from May of 1997 until just after Princess Diana's death.

Helen Mirren played the part to a T and I think really deserved the Oscar she received for the part. Whoever did the makeup and clothes selection for her deserved an award as well because there were times when I forgot she was acting the part of the queen. The movie softened me to Elizabeth a bit and it did make her seem more human. Also it put Prince Charles in a better light than many probably thought during the days after Princess Diana's death. Prince Phillip the Queen's husband though is a very different story...I don't like him at all. If the movie is true than he may well be the hardass if you will of the royal family.

The movie was worth seeing and enjoyable. Gave a good insite from another prespective of those terrible days after Diana's death.

Also watched America's Got Talent on the tube. Is anybody watching this this year? I have watched off and on. They are down to the final 10. last night all 10 performed and 8 will move on next week based on America's vote. The competitaion is tough this year. Most of the finalests are singers. There is also a tumbeling act, a karate/dancing group of guys and a vantrilaquist.

My favorite two acts are a young girl who goes by Butterscotch and makes all these amazing sounds with her voice she sings and makes sounds as well....don't know what exactly they call it but she is very entertaining. I also liked a guy named Cas (forget last name). he is a really good singer and is trying to make it big for his son and wife.....has a great personality and lots of heart. he sang a blues number last night which the judges didn't like so much but I thought was great.

Anyway the show is on NBC again next Tuesday should you want to catch it.

What are you reading?

I have three books going at the moment .



First the last Harry Potter book. Yes I was one of those who baught it at midnight the day it went on sale but for some reason I am reading it very very slowly. I suppose maybe I am savoring it since it is the last of the series. I am on about page 250....so only about a thirs of the way done. I will be sad for the series to end, I think the books asr wonderful and will surely be classics of our time.

Second up is Lean Mean Thirteen. I waited two weeks for this book to finally show up from my book club. Don't know why it took so long but I am really ready for my Stephanie anc company fix. should be done with this in a couple days max.

Finally The Quickie by James Patterson. I devour Patterson's books. I had not gotten a chance to pick this one up yet so one of my co-workers loaned me her copy and I started reading it at lunch today. I am very caught up in the story so far and will probably finish this one first. So far it is a very different story for him....said to be his sexiest book since The Honeymoon.

Will give more in depth opinions when I have finished.

So what are you all reading this week?

Red Box movie Weekend

Red Box movie rentals-

Do you guys have these in your area? They are vending machines located at McDonalds and in my town at grocery stores (Marsh). Anyway you can rent movies from them for $1.00 per night. Pretty cool huh and you can’t beat the price.

So I wanted to try them and ended up going on a mini movie marathon last weekend. Saw six movies over the weekend.

First up was:

Crank

Professional assassin Chev Chelios (Statham) learns his rival (Cantillo) has injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops
I Love Jason Statham and this was an ok movie but I was glad I waited for the video

Next up was:

Da Ja Vu

A ferry filled with crewmen from the USS Nimitz and their families was blown up in New Orleans on Mardi Gras. BATF Doug Carlin is brought in to assist in the massive investigation, and gets attached to an experimental FBI surveillance unit, one that uses spacefolding technology to directly look back a little over four days into the past. While tracking down the bomber, Carlin gets an idea in his head: could they use the device to actually travel back in time and not only prevent the bombing but also the murder of a local woman whose truck was used in the bombing?

Love Denzel Washington and I thought this movie was great . Will probably buy it eventually as I have most of Denzel’s other movies.


Next was The Holiday

This was a very cute movie. The two girls are having guy trouble and end up switching houses during the Christmas holidays and end up falling in love. Very predictable but also light hearted and fun.

Next was: Shooter


A marksman (Wahlberg) living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why. Widescreen. Spanish subtitles

I had previously saw this at the theater and LOVED it!!!! Will be buying this one to add to my collection at some point as well.


Next was Black Snake Moan:

A God-fearing bluesman (Jackson) takes to a wild young woman (Ricci) who, as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, looks everywhere for love, never quite finding it.

Samuel L Jackson is another actor I love in almost everything. This was a very different movie as far as movies go. Worth seeing though.

Last but not least saw Zodiac. As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues. Widescreen closed captioned, Spanish dubbed available

Was worth seeing but was a bit too long. Don’t think I would purchase this one but it did give an interesting look at these murders.

Anyway if you have the redbox rentals in your area you should give them a try. Great entertainment value. They sure kept me busy for the weekend.

Oh and McDonalds has coupons for a free night’s rental on their large fountain drinks so that’s another plus.

So what did you do with your weekend?