Furiously Happy (Part Two)

Meet the Family, Dan, Nicole, Lady Katherine
and Lord Destructor the Untamable (aka Gizmo)

I realize if you've been following our blog you've already read a review of Furiously Happy and have probably already added it to your reading list because Meg spoke so highly of it.  However, if you somehow missed putting it on hold at your local library or purchasing it I would recommend doing so now. Don't worry.  I'll wait.

Good.  Now that you've got a copy heading toward you in some manner I'll just tell you what makes this book so amazing.  Jenny Lawson has mental illness and blogs about her life. In reading this she has helped me to laugh at a lot of the things I find myself struggling with some days, and to maybe feel a little less crazy.  Perhaps one thing it does do is help me appreciate my husband a little more, who has no problem that Gizmo has not one, but two theme songs (Lady Katherine is harder to get a good rhythm and rhyming for, but I'm working on it, it's a work in progress).

While I don't own a koala costume to cuddle koalas in Australia, I honestly don't see any problem with the desire to look like a koala and cuddle a koala at the same time.  Similarly I don't have any taxidermized animals to talk to or have sneak over Dan's shoulder as he's on a video call with someone, but again, I wouldn't be surprised if I would do such things.

Near the end of the book Lawson is getting ready to go out and her husband tells her she looks okay, not good, but okay.  So she decides she must change her clothes because Victor, her husband, was not paying her a compliment by saying she looked okay.  He responds by saying he likes her skin because it keeps her organs from falling on the carpet.  I cannot tell you how hard I laughed at this line and how quickly I snapped a picture of the page to send to Dan.  He once told me that he liked my green shirt because green is like grass and my hair is brown like dirt so I look like earth, I wouldn't be surprised if this had come from his mouth.

As Meg pointed out in her review months ago, Lawson is wonderful to read and captures the essence of living with anxiety for the "normals" out there.

Eight Hundred Grapes

Synchronize (verb) "to occur at the same time or coincide or agree in time" (Online Etymology Dictionary).

Much of our lives are left to chance, in spite of perfect planning one cannot prepare for the weather, the actions of another, and as I learned while reading this book, the making of wine. We cannot control the rain or the weather, just as we cannot control the actions of others.

In Eight Hundred Grapes Georgia is one week away from her wedding that is set to take place at her parents' vineyard.  She finds her fiancee is keeping the knowledge of a daughter from her as well as meetings with his ex-wife.  She realizes this as she is trying on her wedding dress and flees the city, heading home.

Upon returning home she finds her family is also struggling in their relationships and realizes the importance of home and family.  Weeks have passed since I read this book and I'm still thinking about it, still wanting to try putting chocolate in lasagna and to enjoy (just one more) glass of wine.

In short, read this book, especially if you have a love of wine, it will probably help increase that love.


synchronize. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved December 22, 2015 from Dictionary.com website http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/synchronize

Recycled Tree

I am all about recycling whenever possible.  I have some old shirts I retired in a pile waiting to be cut up and turned into a rug, old pillows are waiting to be turned into stuffed animals, and sheets found at Salvation Army have been turned into dresses or skirts.

In turn, my recycling habits have entered my work life and I began to find annoyance at recycling newspapers when we were using fresh paper for our bulletin board.  And so, an idea was born, when presented with the opportunity of reusing newspapers I decided to make a tree.

Newspapers prior to rolling

Papers are opened, rolled into tube-like pieces and staple it like crazy to the bulletin board in tree form!

I've done this design for the spring, having children write their names on leaves to add to the board, in the fall spraying the leaves with watered down red, brown and orange paint to give the perfect fall look.  This time we had ornaments and snow flakes for kids (and some staff) to color

Me Before You & After You

You know those books that truly piss you off when you finish it? Me Before You was one that truly made me angry.  When I heard there was a sequel coming out (After You), I had decided there was no way I would read it, as I was still too upset about the ending from the first. For some reason I decided to put it on hold, despite not wanting to read it (perhaps it was because I enjoyed the first so much) and read it over the last two days. Once again my heart was broken, filled with hope, and longing.

The series follows the life of Louisa Clark, a quirky late twenties who lives with her parents. She gets a job as a helper to Will Traynor, a quadriplegic who used to do everything and now he can’t even get dressed or feed himself. Will gave up on living and Lou took it upon herself to determine how best to change his mind. Even though it has been over a year since I read the first novel I couldn’t help but miss these wonderful characters.  Despite Will’s constant complaining about his inability to do anything and his want to end his life and Lou’s constant need to take care of everyone else I couldn’t help but love these characters.  

For fear of ruining the story I won’t share anymore details but I do highly encourage everyone to read this book.  If you talk to Meg (or Paige Turner, whatever it is she is going by these days) don’t listen to what she has to say about it.  She had a difficult time getting into it, though I would imagine if she was in the right mood she would love it too.

Fox and O'Hare

I (Nicole), have a confession to make.  I’m not actually a librarian yet.  I still have the rest of this semester and one more before I’ll be done with my degree.  That being said most of my reading until I finish is fluff.  I read enough books that make me have to think for my classes, I don’t really care to think when I’m reading for fun.  Besides, in all reality I probably shouldn’t be reading too much for fun either.

All this to say I have really enjoyed the Fox and O’Hare series by Janet Evanovich with Lee Goldberg.  Evanovich is the same author who has brought us the Stephanie Plum series, but this one seems to have a little more variance in each story.

The Heist begins with FBI agent Kate O’Hare who is searching for Nicholas Fox, a professional con artist.  She ends up catching him after years of searching, only for him to get out due to another agent’s failure to follow all rules.  At this point the rules change and they become teammates and work to take down other con artists, using the FBI’s resources and Fox’s expertise.  

As with Stephanie Plum these books are page turners, filled with humor and a lot of drama.  The stories aren’t complex and never once was I trying to figure out what was happening, unless of course, that was the author’s intent.  The sexual tension between Kate and Nick is so thick you could cut it with a knife, but thus far nothing has happened, just enough romance to keep me wanting more.  I laughed a lot and read them despite having a house to clean and piles of homework to do, please don’t tell my husband.  I’m pretty sure he thought I was being a responsible grown-up at the moment.  All in all, I recommend this series to anyone wanting a quick, funny read with a little mystery thrown in.

**Views expressed are my own and don’t necessarily coincide with my employer**

About Us

Meg and Nicole are two Badass Book Banging Librarians who love to do displays, programs and other spectacular library related splendor.  They both have excellent taste in books (they both agree) and have been told by at least one patron that their combined skills should be shared with the world.  And so, on a gloomy Saturday in August the two badass librarians created this blog.  I know you, the reader, are excited to follow this amazing journey with us. If for some reason you aren't, GET OFF OUR PAGE or not, you may decide to be filled with anticipation every time a new post arrives.