Janet’s Book Nook

I finally finished this book last night. I have to say that I read the majority of the book over 2 days last week but then got really busy and finished the last part last night. It isn’t really a long book and doesn’t take a whole lot of concentration to get it. The book 353 pages but it was printed in this really large font size so I would say in regular font size it would have been half as many pages or less. A very easy read to say the least.

What did I think about the storyline? I loved it. I was shocked by that fact. I had heard negative things and I had put off reading this one because I truly expected to hate it. I didn’t hate it at all. It was light reading even though the subject got a little heavy at times. This book reminded me of the book I read years ago titled "5 People You Meet in Heaven". The story was sweet and the descriptiveness of the writing made me feel like I could see and feel the settings.

The characters in this book are well formulated. They are complete characters. There are very few supporting characters so the time is spent exploring the personalities of the characters that matter. I can’t tell you how many times I read books with so many characters that none of them get fully explored. The Twilight Series was like that. So many characters to remember and where they fell in the full picture and who they belonged to. You have to concentrate on what you are reading or you will miss an important detail. This book is not like that. You get to know the 3 main characters personally and really love them by the end. I loved the spunky spirit of Jane and her self conscious nature made her even more lovable. The unpretentious nature of Michael makes him truly an angle. He is a man any woman can love. Vivienne is the mother we all love to hate. While she seems self centered and shallow she is truly a mother who loves her daughter and wants her to develop in to a strong woman who can handle herself.

I recommend this book for woman who like chick lit or even serious readers who want something light to make your heart feel good. This is truly one of those stories that makes you smile. I have to say that I don’t see James Patterson in this book at all. I don’t know what part he played in its writing but this book is 180 degrees from his regular writing style. I would say that it is much more this unknown writers book. I hope you guys liked this book as much as I did. It would be a great holiday book to read on the plane or car trip. Enjoy!

I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I picked up the new Kitt Kittredge movie for my daughter for Christmas. She is getting Kitt the doll for Christmas and I got her a whole set but I thought the movie would be a great addition. I think it will be so great for her to watch the movie with her new doll so she can get a sense of what Kitt is all about. She will be getting the books also but I think at 7 she will understand Kitt better by seeing the movie before we start to read the books. I am dying to go in and order the other American Girl movies but I think I need to take it slow and get them assimilated to the dolls they are getting from Santa first. I cant wait! It is certainly going to be an American Girl Christmas here.

We have seen a major swing in the housing market over the past year and at this point we just don’t know where it is going to go. There have been marked efforts to help assure that home ownership is attainable by people who have the funds, credit and income to own a home. Unfortunately there will be many families who do not make it out of this crisis with their homes. One of the issues with foreclosure on a home is that the occupants have to get their belongings and leave the premises.

Moving from their home to a rental property after foreclosure can be an extremely stressful situation for the owner. One of the best things to do in this situation is to get the help of professionals like Relocation.com. This company can help people moving across town or those moving overseas. They are able to provide information on apartment hunting and careers or even utilities and insurance. They have articles to help point movers in the right direction. Having professionals help in moving can help to ease the stress of moving.

There are so many reasons for people to consider the state of their housing situation at this time. Interest rates are very low right now so it is a prime time to get financing and so it will become easier to sell homes. If there is any major doubt about a homeowners ability to pay their mortgage in the future it is always a better situation to sell and move to a rental property than it is to allow the property to go in to foreclosure. My hopes are that the new administration will create programs to help homeowners dispose of properties they are no longer able to afford without going in to foreclosure. I don’t know that this will ever happen or if it is even on the drawing board.

Home ownership is one of the most important decisions a person makes in their lives. We commit more time to paying our mortgages (30 years) than we do to raising our children (18-21 years) and yet people have made uninformed decisions in obtaining mortgages. Only when we have informed borrowers and honest lenders will the issue be lessened. In the mean time I highly recommend that owners who are needing to vacate their properties use a reputable and professional mover to do so and to help ease the strain of the stressful situation.

Now that the votes have been cast and the decisions made I thought it would be appropriate to recommend some books to you that were written by or about the new President and First Lady. Whether or not you voted for Obama it is important to be informed on our new President and I think these works are a good place to start in finding out what he is about and where he came from. All of these books can be found on the various book clubs I have recommended and also on Amazon and other retail merchants.

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama’s Plan to Renew America’s Promise

Barack Obama in His Own Words

If any of you have read these books already I would love to have a discussion about the books and which ones are the best and most accurate. I am not interested in discussing politics and whether or not he should have been elected since the fact is he was. I would much rather have a civil discussion about the books and their contents. I will be ordering one or more of these this week so that I can start my own research. Enjoy!

For the first time in the 8 years I have lived in this area I have had crime touch my life. I live in a fairly rural area and on a dead end street so we have always been able to leave our doors and cars unlocked with no issues. Not anymore.

We woke up Friday to find that someone had stolen my husband’s wallet out of his truck. Now I have to say he got what he deserved because he left his wallet in his truck and left his truck unlocked. I guess I should not be shocked but like I said he has been doing this for 8 years with no issue. It seems that we now have petty criminals who go into a neighborhood and try all of the vehicle doors to see if they are unlocked. If they find one they take what they can and leave. They don’t try to steal radios or anything like that. They really just want cash or removable electronics.

We ended up getting the wallet back because it was found by DOTD workers who were doing some road work and found it on the side of the road. Everything was still in it because he doesn’t carry cash. They didn’t even attempt to use the cards but we canceled and got new ones anyway.

My biggest concern now is that I might surprise one of them one night when trying to go out to the van to grab something out of it. I have decided to look in to self defense products  that I can use to carry out with me when I am going out the van just in case. Something along the lines of mace or an alarm or something. I figure they don’t ever come out during the day so I will be OK with that especially since I am locking the doors now. I just tend to sometimes run out the van late at night to get school bags or shoes or books or whatever. I don’t want to go out and startle someone who then feels desperate and does harm to me because of it.

I hate that it has come to this but honestly I would have to go even further out to get away from it. I can’t keep running I just have to be smart and safe.