Nightmare Mountain ~ by Peg Kehret

Nightmare Mountain ~ by Peg Kehret, 1989, YA fiction (Washington), 9/10

As soon as Molly arrives at her aunt and uncle's ranch in rural Washington, things start to go very wrong.  Her cousin hates her on sight.  Her aunt falls into a mysterious coma.  Then, left alone on the huge property, Molly and her cousin discover an intruder lurking in the barn.  Armed and desperate, he drags them to the top of a nearby mountain — and triggers an avalanche with a gunshot.  Can they make it down the mountain alive?

When Anthony came to hekp me the other day, he mentioned the many books in my house.  So I asked him what he likes to read.  He said, "Thrillers."  So I asked my roommate Donna to be on the lookout for any YA (young adult) thrillers we may have around here.  She found this one, where these two cousins survive not only an intruder, but also an avalanche.  If Anthony hasn't read it, this is now his book.  Thanks again, Anthony!  Maybe you and I could discuss this book during your break from school.  I think it's an excellent story and rate it 9 out of 10.

Library Loot ~ December 19-25

My loot is actually second-hand loot from my roommate Donna.  She finished this book and handed it to me, saying it's good and I'd like it.  Since I can't drive because of my broken shoulder, I'm fortunate to have a roommate who likes the same kinds of books I do.

The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World ~ by E.  L. Konigsburg, 2007, YA fiction (Florida)

Amedeo Kaplan seems just like any other new kid who has moved into the town of St. Malo, Florida, a navy town where new faces are the norm.  But Amedeo has a secret, a dream:  More than anything in the world, he wants to discover something — a place, a process, even a fossil — some treasure that no one realizes is there until he finds it.  And he would also like to discover a true friend to share these things with.  William Wilcox seems like an unlikely candidate for friendship:  an aloof boy who is all edges and who owns silence the way other people own words.  When Amedeo and William find themselves working together on a house sale for Amedeo's eccentric neighbor, Mrs. Zender, Amedeo has an inkling that both his wishes may come true.  For Mrs. Zender's mansion is crammed with memorabilia of her long life, and there is a story to go with every piece.  Soon the boys find themselves caught up in one particular story — a story that links a sketch, a young boy's life, an old man's reminiscence, and a painful secret dating back to the outrages of Nazi Germany.  It's a story that will take them to the edge of what they know about heroism and the mystery of the human heart.  Two-time Newbery winner E. L. Konigsburg spins a magnificent tale of art, discovery, friendship, history, and truth.

Heft ~ by Liz Moore, 2012, fiction (New York)

Former academic Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn't left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade.  Twenty miles away, in Yonkers, seventeen-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich school and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising baseball career — if he can untangle himself from his family drama.  The link between this unlikely pair is Kel’s mother, Charlene, a former student of Arthur’s.  After nearly two decades of silence, it is Charlene’s unexpected phone call to Arthur — a plea for help — that jostles them into action.  Through Arthur and Kel’s own quirky and lovable voices, Heft tells the winning story of two improbable heroes whose sudden connection transforms both their lives.

This is another of the books Donna checked out of the library.  I may or may not end up reading it, but itintrigues me.  I picked it up to see quickly to see if it looked interesting and Isuddenly noticed I was already on page17.  Yep, it looks like my kind of book:  un-put-down-able.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share titles of books they’ve checked out of the library.  To participate, just add your post to their Mister Linky any time during the week.  And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries this week.

Pageboy bob

It had been nearly two weeks since my hair had been washed with anything other than a dry shampoo, so it looked and felt awful.  After my appointment with Dr. Bell yesterday morning, my daughter Sandra took me to get my hair shampooed and cut into a sort of pageboy bob.  Penny, who decided on a good style for me that would be easy to maintain, washed my hair while I leaned forward into the sink, trying to avoid hurting my broken shoulder.  Some water dribbled down the cape onto the floor, and she knelt to mop it up with a towel so I wouldn't slip.  I told her, "I will be back!"  And Sandra said she left her a very good tip for all she did.  This is different from anything I've had before, but it feels comfortable.

Good news — the doctor said, after looking at new x-rays, that I can skip surgery and start physical therapy in a couple of weeks.  Meanwhile, I'm to take my arm out of the sling several times a day and move it like a pendulum while it hangs down from my shoulder.  It feels good to move it, and this morning I got up with less effort and less pain than I've felt since the accident.

Something good came of it

My son, a few years ago.

My son's truck died and — just when he needed it most — so did his cell phone.  With today's technology, our cell phones are now also our phonebooks, our address books, our notepads.  Everything's in the one little electronic device.  So when he borrowed a phone to call his wife, he was in big trouble when she didn't answer.  Thinking maybe she was asleep (she was actually in the shower), he called his sister to run over to his house to tell his wife to come get him.  Nobody answered at his sister's house, either.  The next number that came to his mind was mine.

He knew I'd be home, since I'm laid up with a broken shoulder.  I called his other sister for him — my daughters are identical twins and both live near their brother.  Mission accomplished!  While his wife went to rescue him, I had time to dream up the perfect solution to his problem.

I won't be able to drive for weeks — until my shattered shoulder heals — and my car will need to be driven occasionally by someone.  Two birds with one stone, in other words.  So half an hour ago, my Subaru Outback went home with David and Sharon.

Anthony

I can't get out of bed alone because of my shattered shoulder, but I can't take a pain pill without food.  I called next door, and Anthony promptly came to get my salad out of the refrigerator for me.  Good neighbors are a blessing.  Thank you, Anthony!

Left-handed report on my life

inside the ambulance

inside the ER

Views from inside the ambulance and from inside the emergency room.  The EMTs thought I was crazy, taking pictures, which is of course absolutely true.  But it took my mind off the pain.  Short version:  I fell on my way into the restaurant to meet my friend Jane.  I was hurrying, wasn't careful enough, tripped on the curb, and dived lip first onto the pavement.  I have no idea how my upper lip made contact, yet my nose didn't.  Both hands and both knees were badly gashed and bloody, but worst was my right elbow, which took the brunt of the fall, jamming the humerus (upper arm bone) upward into my shoulder.  I couldn't turn my wrist and was sure I had broken my shoulder, but it's the arm bone, just below the knob at the shoulder.  Tomorrow -- well, actually that's today since I haven't slept much here in my recliner all night -- I have to see an orthopedic surgeon.

Jane followed the ambulance to the nearby hospital and called my son, who notified his sisters.  My daughter Sandra showed up at the hospital within minutes of getting the phone call.  She had been shoppimg across the street from the restaurant and watched the ambulance depart, not knowing her mom was in it until her brother called.  My kids got me home, picked up the prescription pain medications, fetched my car from the restautant parking lot (I won't be driving it for awhile, without the use of my right hand), and took turns staying with me as they took care of everything for me.  Sandra cancelled all she was scheduled to do tomorrow -- I mean, today -- and spent the night with me.  She and my friend Donna will get me to the doctor in an hour or so.  I hope the techs got enough x-rays last night and don't have to jostle my shoulder any more.

Although Jane stayed with me in spite of never getting to eat supper, she had already sent off an email to our friends before I got home.  What would I do without such wonderful friends and family?

Kendall, exactly a year ago, on 12-10-11

By the way, the EMT who was inserting an IV line while I photogtaphed his partner above knows my grandson Kendall.  They went through fire fighter training together.  Because the nearest ambulance was out on a call, the Dallas Bay Volunteer EMTs were sent for me.  Notice the name on the fire truck behind my grandson, here and when I wrote about him last year.

Library Loot ~ December 5-11

As the mother of identical twin daughters, I was hooked by part of the title of a chapter of this book:  "How Come Identical Twins Aren't Identical?"  I didn't make it past the "new books" shelves to turn in my last library book and ask for the one on hold before I had this intriguing title in my hands.

The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code ~ by Sam Kean, 2012, science

Sam Kean explores the wonders of the magical building block of life: DNA.  There are genes to explain crazy cat ladies, why other people have no fingerprints, and why some people survive nuclear bombs.  Genes illuminate everything from JFK's bronze skin (it wasn't a tan) to Einstein's genius.  They prove that Neanderthals and humans bred thousands of years more recently than any of us would feel comfortable thinking.  They can even allow some people, because of the exceptional flexibility of their thumbs and fingers, to become truly singular violinists.  Kean's vibrant storytelling once again makes science entertaining, explaining human history and whimsy while showing how DNA will influence our species' future.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus ~ by Charles C. Mann, 2005, history

A groundbreaking study that radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans in 1492.  Traditionally, Americans have learned in school that the ancestors of the American Indians crossed the Bering Strait 12,000 years ago, existed in small, nomadic bands, and lived so lightly on the land that much of the Americas was wilderness when Columbus set sail.  But as Charles Mann makes clear, in the last 20 years archaeologists and anthropologists using new research tecniques have proven these and other long-held assumptions to be false.  He shows us how a new generation of researchers came to the persuasive conclusion that more people lived in the Americas in 1491 than in Europe; that certain of their cities, including the Azetc capital, Tenochtitlan, were greater in size than any European city; that these much learger societies were also older and far more advanced than had been thought (the Indian development of corn is still the most complex and far-reaching example of genetic engineering known); that the Native Americans managed their environments in ways that, if replicated today, could revolutionize local agriculture.  1491 sheds clarifying light on the methods by which these discoveries where made, how they have rewritten part of our history, and how they contribute to today's environmental disputes.  It is an impassioned and erudite account of scientific inquiry and revelation.

Jesus: A Theography ~ by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, 2012, biography

Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola reclaim the entire Bible as a gripping narrative about Jesus Christ.  Virtually every other “Jesus biography” begins with the nativity account in Bethlehem.  In this groundbreaking book, Sweet and Viola begin before time, in the Triune God, and tell the complete interconnected story of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation.  Jesus: A Theography is the first book ever written to combine historical Jesus studies with biblical theology, crafting together one breathtaking saga that tells the Jesus story in both Old and New Testaments.  This flagship book demonstrates clearly that every bit of Scripture is part of the same stunning drama, what the authors refer to as the theography of Jesus Christ.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share titles of books they’ve checked out of the library.  To participate, just add your post to their Mister Linky any time during the week.  And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries this week.