Good morning!
So it’s going to be a busy day at work today. Yesterday we had quite a storm and got mucho rain. My office at work was flooded as well as the preschool that’s attached to it and part of the rest of the facility. Lots of work to do.
This past weekend I got the pleasure of spending quite a few hours with Lori, Holly and Nikki which was just a ton of fun. We had lunch, went to the local Borders (which is closing down so all the romance was on sale for 50% off) and then to B & N. We talked and laughed and just had a great time.
A funny thing that happened last Friday…I was assaulted by the Oatmeal Police. You didn’t know that they existed, did you? Well frankly, I didn’t either until I was in Starbucks. This is what happened…I got my coffee and oatmeal from Starbucks and was “fixing” my oatmeal at the counter when a man walked up to me and started spewing about how much milk I put in my oatmeal. Now, if you’ve ever had oatmeal from there you’d know that the cups are rather small so really I had probably put about 2 tablespoons in but apparently that was way too much in this man’s opinion. I asked him why he thought it was his business and he was just disgusted that I would put milk in and not let the oatmeal “cook” with just the water. I told him that it would “cook” by the time that I got to work, it would just do it with the milk in it. He just shook his head and walked off. This man was seriously disturbed about my oatmeal. I had to laugh but then I started thinking about the fact that this guy thought that it was really OK to tell me how to do something – someone he doesn’t even know. I have a sense of propriety and even if I think someone is doing something completely ridiculous I would never say it to them (unless they were harming someone else). Is this something that would just happen in America or would this happen in say England where (I think) they are very proper? Or any other place? I just don’t get why people think everyone else’s business is theirs as well. Huh. Something to think about.
So on to what I read last week:
My first read for the week was a YA fantasy book called Chime by Franny Billingsley. I don’t normally read YA or fantasy all that much, for that matter, but it was a decent read. You can read my review here if you’re interested. 3.75 out of 5
Next up was The Rake and the Recluse by Jenn LeBlanc – a book I read for The Book Binge. This was a time travel historical where a woman is sent back in time. The theory that her father had come up with is that there is that one person that we are destined to be with and that we could travel time in order for that match to happen. She thought he was nutty but obviously something happened. She falls in love with the recluse, a Duke, who finds her by almost running over her with his carriage. This was a decent read as well. There were parts of it that I didn’t care for but since it was so long (580 pages) there could be parts that I didn’t like and still like the book as a whole. 3.75 out of 5
After that was Shades of Gray by Brooke McKinley. This was an m/m about an FBI agent, Miller, who is determined to bring down a drug lord. He gets an ex-con who works in the drug lord’s organization, Danny, to help him out and ends up babysitting and protecting him when said drug lord comes after the informant. But there’s so much more going on here besides Miller trying to save Danny’s life. It’s Miller admitting to himself that yes, he is gay, and that yes, he has been living a lie his entire life and what will he do about it if he wants to be with Danny. This was such a great read. I loved the tension both sexual and suspense-wise. Danny and Miller’s relationship really had me on the edge of my seat and I loved not being able to figure out how the hell they would ever be able to be together. Just a damn good read. 5 out of 5
My Tracy’s TBR Challenge read for the week was Born to Be Wild by Christine Warren. Josie is a vet and Eli is the town sheriff and also an Other – a lion shifter. Eli brings in a wolf – who’s actually a shifted human – to her clinic and she tries to help the person. They discover that there’s something funky going on with the wolf as well as in the town and they’re determined to figure it out. The suspense part of this book was really the only thing I cared for in the story. It was pretty interesting and kept me guessing. The romance did nothing for me. I didn’t like Eli because he treated Josie like she was an idiot though she was really quite smart. However, she did have her TSTL moments and I ended up thinking they were perfect for each other. 2.5 out of 5
Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips was my next read. This was another good read about Meg who heads to Texas for her best friend’s wedding and realizes that these two people should not be getting married. She manages to get Lucy to realize that Ted is not who she will be happy with the rest of her life. The wedding gets cancelled but Meg is stuck in town because she has no money. Though they hate each other, eventually Ted and Meg start a sex only relationship but as does happen, Meg ends up falling in love with Ted. I wasn’t sure what to think about Ted at first but as the book went on I got to like him more and more. Meg and Ted were great together and I really ended up liking the book. 4 out of 5
Last on the list was Called Home: Two Hearts Answer by Gloria Schumann. This was the story of Emma and David who head back to their home towns for different reasons and meet up. I’ll be reviewing this on Wednesday so you can read more about it then.
My Book Binge reviews that posted this past week:
Happy Reading!
Oatmeal police. Who knew. It would not be common in Canada but I'm sure some wack job would give it a try.
I really liked Shades of Grey as well. It was a good read.
Hope you get all dried out.
OK, seriously? WTFBBQ over the oatmeal police! It annoys me when people dump coffee in the trash cans at Starbucks instead of telling the barista to leave room for milk – but I don't go around accosting people about it. I would have told the old coot to get a life.
And here I thought only pregnant women and mothers with young children were subjected to "helpful" advice from TOTAL STRANGERS! Argh!
I'm hitting the closing Borders near my office today. The one near my house has been pretty well picked over, although the variety of romance they still had was halfway decent….
lately I've have total strangers come up to me and tell me what I should and shouldn't do. I guess I'm not the only one.
Wow Oatmeal police. Starbucks should have security watching the bar where you fix your coffee because it ends up so disgusting with used sugar packets and some stains on the counter I dare not even touch.
I like my oatmeal as dry as I can get it with little water and milk and tons of blueberries 🙂
Ok… wtf about the Oatmeal Police?! I had a guy freak out and start screaming at me at my co-op a few years ago because I bought the last gluten-free muffins all day – he kept appearing at the end of different aisles and flipping me off. Over muffins. *rolls eyes*
I have Shades of Gray. Why haven't I read it? Hmm.
If you'd only done it the way he wanted you to in the first place, you could have spared yourself the lecture. Geez, Tracy. You should have known better!
I'm very familiar with the American catchup police, but the Oatmeal must be a new department… LOL. Let me first tell you that I'm from Brazil, and we just love pizza with catchup, second, a few years ago I went to Nederland and fell in love with french fries and mayo. So everytime I go to the US and try to have one of those two combos I have to deal with the catchup police, because you just CAN'T use catchup with pizza, and french fries can only be eaten with catchup and nothing else… Pffff….
"This man was seriously disturbed by my oatmeal." SNORT. zomg..people need a life!
Tam – I'm thinking it's just pushy American's. lol
Shades of Gray was wonderful!
Drying out as I type. 🙂
Wendy – I know! He just thought he had every right to give me his opinion…and he wasn't that old – just obviously very controlling.
When we went to Borders this weekend they had quite a bit of good stuff left – most a month or older but still. I bought 4 books at Borders and only $16.00!
KB – Luckily the Starbucks I usually go to is quite clean*cross fingers that it stays that way*
See – you like your oatmeal different but you're not about to go up to someone and criticize them if they don't like it the same. Stupid man. lol
Chris – OMG he was a muffin nazi! lol I would have paid and run. 🙂
Shade of Gray is really good – read it!
Lori – I know, next time I'll get my clairvoyant properties come to the forefront and take over so I'll know exactly what HE wants me to do. Yikes. lol
Dani – Yes, I think ketchup on pizza is odd but unless you're one of my relatives I'm not gonna say a word! And see, you're proof that it's mostly Americans who butt their noses in. Geez – sorry about that. 🙂
Mandi – You said it honey! lol
First off I must just have a mean and don't mess with me face b/c no one tells me what to do or not to do (no one sticks baby in a corner) LOL or at least they haven't yet I just totally jinxed myself didn't I?
Other than that WOW you get a lot of reading done. Memo to me I must try to read more… especially the first book you suggested….
Sarai – Well I guess I didn't think I needed the "don't mess with me face" while preparing my oatmeal! lol
Yikes at the Oatmeal police. That guy sounds creepy. Going around telling people how to eat.
Great reading week though. I'm really glad you liked Shades of Gray. 🙂
Hey Tracy! Sorry to hear about the flooding – cannot be fun ^_^;
Haven't read any of the books you've read. I know that Ames has read Shades of Gray and enjoyed that one a lot as well 🙂 If ever I jump on the m/m bandwagon, I'll know what to read 😛
Hmmm, Ms Warren's books seem to be hit and miss 🙁 I read the first few and the series and enjoyed them well enough, but not enough to really get hooked to this series… and it seems her couple latest were only so-so 🙁
Oh and glad to hear that you had a great week-end with the ladies! Weird about the oatmeal police. Weird some ppl that just come up to you and start lecturing. As if we really care…
The Oatmeal Police? I wonder if I've just found my new calling? I feel like I could be good at accosting random strangers in Starbucks and telling them what to do (it can't be that different from telling my family what to do, right?).
I liked the SEP when I read it, but after getting some distance from it I'm more disappointed than I originally thought. The way the town acted toward Meg and the humiliation she suffered was way over the top. Plus, Ted was…a disappointment. I might have to re-read it to see what I think.
Ames – I know. Apparently in his own mind/world everyone listens to him. lol
Nath – I've found the Warren books hit or miss for me too after Book 4, Howl at the Moon. Before that I really liked the books. Bummer.
Holly – I think people should do things my way too but I don't blurt it out and tell them…unless it's a friend then I do it really nicely. lol
The SEP took a while for me to get into. I wasn't sure what to think about Ted at first but he grew on me, as did Meg. Yes, the way the town treated her was crap but I was happy to see her fighting back and not caving in.
Sorry to hear about the flooding! Hope not too much was damaged?
As for the Oatmeal Police….LOL. Scary though that he was so incensed that he walked up to a complete stranger. But…he obviously felt very strongly about it 🙂
Oh, I so need to read Shades of Grey. I'm hoping to have an m/m Easter weekend reading session, so will have to make sure I read it 🙂
Orannia – Luckily we had minimal damage in the flooding. The courtyard outside my office just couldn't handle the onslaught of water with the one drain.
Shades of Gray was SO good – I think you'll really like it.
Ohhh I love the cover to the second book,"The Rake & The Recluse."