Friends, Fun, and Books -- What Could Be Better?

I've never really done a "week in review" kind of post. Once in a while I put up the old "Book Bag" graphic and list some of the stuff I am presently reading. I just don't seem to be able to keep up with those kinds of posts. Some bloggers are so faithful and consistent -- not me. My job gets me up and out of the house, possibly more than I really want to, and with my love of books and being surrounded with piles of them and tons of ebooks on my computers, I would be a happy camper just vegging out and indulging.

But the fun things that come out of blogging are getting to know other So. Calif. bloggers, authors through email and such, and sitting down with

people who love books as much as I do and just having a gab-fest. One such gathering occurred this past Saturday when several So. Calif. bloggers were able to get together and indulge in just an all-out gabfest about books. Above, left to right, are Renee, Tracy, Judith, Wendy, and Nikki, all of whom love books, read voraciously, have very strong and well-defended opinions on w

hich books they like and which ones they absolutely didn't like--all shared with a sense of fun and we're-all-in-this-together kind of comraderie. My favorite times, other than lunch, was when we could just share. It was fascinating to watch some of the other customers in the Covina Book Store and the Barnes & Noble Book Store nearby, as all five of us were standing in the aisles around the romance fiction, pulling books off the shelves, putting them back, pointing to our favorites, letting the others know when we saw one we couldn't stand--all just a bunch of friends enjoying books. Some of the books we were highlighting were by authors most of us read extensively, and some were really not known or those whose books we hadn't read yet. So I came home and went through my "recently read" list--mostly ebooks--and found that I had complied a fairly hefty pile of books that I had plowed through in a few days.

Sealed Forever is Ms Daughtridge's fourth book in her current series a

nd was a delightful book about two people from very different walks of life, who had met previously at the wedding of two of their best friends--she was the maid of honor a nd he was the best man--and these two friends were trying their hand at matchmaking, unsuccessfully. Both were really quite emotionally banged up and not ready for a new relationship. Now they meet because a baby has been abandoned and as she is a new M.D. in town and he is working undercover as the administrator of a small private airfield, their friendship and connection through this child serves to keep them in touch in each other's lives.

Losing Control by Crissy Smith is the story of a man who

has now returned to the United States to take up a position as head of security for a large firm. He has essentially be hiding out in Europe after finding his mate--he is a werewolf--and being frightened to death to realize that his mate is another man working for the same firm. Now he has returned to acknowledge that relationship and claim his mate, but he also comes in contact with a graphic artist working for his firm and knows immediately that she is their "third." How he manages to restore trust between himself and his mate as well as find a way for the two of them to bring this lady into their long-term relationship forms the core of this story.

Cowboys Like Us by Vicki Lewis Thompson is the story of a professional baseball player who, due to a very serious knee injury, is no longer playing pro ball with the Chicago Cubs. Coming to Wyoming in order to attend the wedding of a long-time friend, Logan begins to revisit his love for furniture making and is working at the Last Chance Ranch for a few weeks. During this time he also strikes up an affair with Caro, the bartender at the Spirits and Spurs bar and a woman who begins to push him to get in touch with himself and look to the future. It is a compelling short novel and one that was a very entertaining read.

These are but a few of the titles I waded through in recent days. I have done a number of reviews for The Book Binge and even though I am not due to post on the Desert Island Keepers for a few months, I urge you to visit over there. Lots of good stuff to be looking at and enjoying.

Most of all, don't lose sight of how precious our friends are, how important it is to stay in contact with people of like minded living and caring, and doing the things that give our lives meaning. There are so many ways to stay in touch--phones, email, Twitter and Facebook, just to mention a few. And best of all, those face-to-face gatherings are the places we make very good memories. Keep your noses right where they belong . . . in a book, of course.