Follow Friday!

Hosted by Parajunkee's View & Alison Can Read, the goal is to gain new followers and to follow new people yourself! :)

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

(Taken straight from the hosts)

• (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
• (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
• If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers.
• If you’re new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Follow Friday!

This week's question/activity:
 Tell us about the most emotional scene you've ever read in a book ~ and how did you react?



Oh my. I would say Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein contained the most emotional scene I've ever read. I don't want to give away the entire scene, but I will just say, "Kiss me, Hardy"... I still get chills thinking about this story, and sometimes tear up when talking about it. It was that good. I'm not sure how I finished it; my tears wouldn't stop and I was literally sobbing.


 


What about you? What scene would you say was the emotional you've ever read?



Smiles,
B

What Happened to Goodbye: A Review

Title: What Happened to Goodbye
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Publication Date: May 2011
Source: Own, bought
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5 stars

~ Synopsis from Goodreads ~

Who is the real McLean?

Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out.

Combining Sarah Dessen's trademark graceful writing, great characters, and compelling storytelling, What Happened to Goodbye is irresistible reading.

 

I have never been disappointed with a Sarah Dessen book, and this one is no exception. :)

I loved watching McLean grow. She starts out not knowing who she is anymore. Which, given that her entire life is in upheaval after a very scandalous, and very public, divorce, makes perfect sense. She's trying to find herself again, which involves reinventing herself at each school she attends when she moves around with her dad.

But this place, with people who don't really give her a chance to create someone, she is forced to be herself, to remember where it is she comes from and what it is she stands for. Not only does she make friends, where she has been avoiding as much personal connection as possible, but she also brings people together who may never have found each other without her.

Sarah Dessen creates a world that I found myself wandering in, sometimes feeling lost with McLean, sometimes feeling loved with her, sometimes feeling broken right along with her. Sometimes you don't really know what you have until it's nearly too late. But, if you're still breathing, it's never too late.

"Everyone is something."

"Like a blinking cursor on an empty page, it was just the first thing. The beginning of the beginning. But at least it was done." 

"But in the real world, you couldn't really just split a family down the middle, mom on one side, dad the other, with the child divided equally between. it was like when you ripped a piece of paper into two: no matter how you tried, the seams never fit exactly right again."

"If only you could really use a fail-proof system to know who was worth keeping and who needed to be thrown away. It would make it so much easier to move through the world, picking and choosing what connections to make, or whether to make any at all."

"[You're two a.m.] You know. The person you can call at two a.m. and, no matter what, you can count on them. Even if they're asleep or it's cold or you need to be bailed out of jail... they'll come for you. It's, like, the highest level of friendship."

"All those clean, fresh starts had made me forget what it was like, until now, to be messy and honest and out of control. To be real."

"Once you love something, you always love it in some way. You have to. It's, like, part of you for good."

"It wasn't about being happy or unhappy. I just didn't want to be me anymore."

"We make such messes in this life, both accidentally and on purpose. But wiping the surface doesn't really make anything any neater. It just masks what is below. It's only when you really dig down deep, go underground, that you can see who you really are."

"Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together."

"Your past is always your past. Even if you forget it, it remembers you."

WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays was started by MizB over at Should Be Reading,

To play along, simply answer the following three (3) Questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Currently Reading

 

Looking for Alaska by John Green

This has been on my to-read list for a LONG time, and on my shelf for just as long. I am excited to finally start it! :)

Recently Finished Reading

 

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen

Loved this one! Such a great story about finding yourself in the midst of life changes that leave you broken and unsure about everything.

What I Might Read Next

 

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys 

Ever since I read the first page at the bookstore a few weeks ago I've been dying to read this one. I am looking forward to it. Plus, Malissa started it. If I hadn't already started Looking for Alaska I would've started this one with her. :)

What about you? What have you been reading?

Smiles,
B

 

♥ Spreading the Book Love ♥

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they provide a Top Ten topic for you to create your list, then you share it on their post so others can find you. :)

  ♥ Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most ♥

All of these books are on my favorites shelf for one reason or another. The writing, the story, the characters, the gut-wrenching plot twists, the boxes of Kleenex used... it doesn't matter why, it's there. Therefore, they are books that I will recommend non-stop, probably for the rest of my life. :)

 

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

What book(s) do you recommend the most?

Smiles,
B

Memorable Monday ~ The Fault in Our Stars

 

Memorable Monday is a meme hosted by Escape in a Good Book.  I'm excited to join in on this one because I love quotes, which was the driving force behind the creation of Memorable Mondays.  I thank the ladies at Escape in a Good Book.

So... how do you participate?  It's simple ~

1) Share a quote that has captured your interest lately in a Memorable Monday post on your blog.

2) Come back here and leave the link to your post in the comment box below.  If you don't have a blog, I'd still love to hear read your quote.  Leave it in the comment box instead of a link to a non-existent blog.  :)

3) Visit other participants if you have time.  It's always nice to have visitors.  There's no overstaying your welcome this way, and they don't have to offer the obligatory drinks.  Or clean.

4) If you tweet your posts, feel free to use the hashtag #MemorableMonday.

This week's choice:
"As he read, I fell in love the way  you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once."

~The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

  

Sadly, I haven't read anything that just had me dying to share it in the past week, so I thought I'd jump back to one of my all time favorite books and pick one there. :)


Hope you all have had a great Monday!




Smiles,
B

Follow Friday

(My apologues for the weird format this week. I'm on my phone and struggling... Lol)


Hosted by Parajunkee's View & Alison Can Read, the goal is to gain new followers and to follow new people yourself! :)


RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

(Taken straight from the hosts) (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}

(Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers

Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.

Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.

If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed

Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”

If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers.

If you’re new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Follow Friday!

This week's question/activity:
What is your guilty pleasure as far as reading? Is it a genre or a certain type of book?

Hmm... I've really been thinking about this. I don't know that I really have one. Maybe someone can or will point one out to me, but I can't think of one. ;-)


What about you? Do you have a guilty pleasure?

Smiles, B

Review ~ The Madness Underneath ~ Review

Title: The Madness Underneath
Author: Maureen Johnson
Series: Shades of London #2
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publication Date: Feb 2013
Source: eBook from NetGalley
Rating: 3 stars

~ The Scoop from Goodreads ~

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance. But Rory's brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she's become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city's secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it's too late.

In this follow-up to the Edgar Award-nominated The Name of the Star, Maureen Johnson adds another layer of spectacularly gruesome details to the streets of London that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Forewarning: There may be spoilers from the FIRST book in the series. But I can guarantee no spoilers for this book. :)

Color me semi-sad. The color... gray. And that's my reaction to this book. I'm sad because I wanted oh-so-much to like it more than I did. I hadn't heard much about it, and I liked the first one (albeit probably not as much as I had hoped as well). I guess I was hoping this one would leave me waiting and wanting for more. Alas, it did not. Like the time my car was stuck in the snow in my driveway and I kept hitting the gas trying to get out... I kept waiting for the story to propel forward.

We start with Rory after the Ripper incident, the one that nearly killed her. She's healing, physically and emotionally. (Now, I've never been knifed, so to speak, but I have had a cesarean, and they cut you open for that. It seemed to me that Rory was moving normally awfully quick for someone who was sliced open and left to bleed out. That was a minor distraction to me.) She's in therapy but she can't address the real issue. She can't tell anyone about her new sight nor can she talk about what really happened in the bathroom back at Wexford. All of that makes sense.

With her new role as a terminus, however, her being away from the Shades is not conducive to their work. She's the only person that can make the ghosts go away. So her therapist is manipulated into suggested Rory return to Wexford. There's a lot of filler about her return; she's failing most, or all, of her classes (not a shocker). She has an insignificant relationship with a boy. Insignificant in the fact that it does nothing, really, to move the plot along, except maybe help her realize just how not "normal" her life. But did she really need a boyfriend to tell her the fact that she can evaporate ghosts now makes her life not "normal"?

Overall the story didn't pick up for me until maybe the last quarter. That's when things really started happening for me. Most of it was fairly predictable (in the fact that I said, aloud, "Really? You didn't see that coming? C'mon!"). There was a bit of a shocker at the end that I was really impressed with.

I will read the next installment, but I won't be rushing to get my hands on it. I was left with a lukewarm feeling with this one, so who's to say how I'll feel about the next one when it comes around.

Have you read this one or the first in the series? What'd you think? If you haven't, do you think you will some time?

Smiles,
B

Unintentional Dust Collectors

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they provide a Top Ten topic for you to create your list, then you share it on their post so others can find you. :)

  Top Ten Books I HAD to Buy... 

But are Still Sitting on My Shelf

As I've said before... I'm an impulse buyer, mostly with just books. Oh, and Amazon... really? Spend a few more dollars and get free shipping? Sure... I'll just tack a book on that order. Why not? Therefore... These books are still on my shelf, yet to be read, unfortunately becoming Dust Collectors. (All unintentional... I swear... I want to show each book I own as much love as the next... and I will... I promise... someday...)

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

Some of these have been on my shelf for a few years, some only a few months, the latest buy being Out of the Easy. That was one of those Amazon add-on's. :)

What books have you bought that you haven't gotten around to reading? 

Smiles,
B

Memorable Monday ♥ What Happened to Goodbye

 

Memorable Monday is a meme hosted by Escape in a Good Book.  I'm excited to join in on this one because I love quotes, which was the driving force behind the creation of Memorable Mondays.  I thank the ladies at Escape in a Good Book.

So... how do you participate?  It's simple ~

1) Share a quote that has captured your interest lately in a Memorable Monday post on your blog.

2) Come back here and leave the link to your post in the comment box below.  If you don't have a blog, I'd still love to hear read your quote.  Leave it in the comment box instead of a link to a non-existent blog.  :)

3) Visit other participants if you have time.  It's always nice to have visitors.  There's no overstaying your welcome this way, and they don't have to offer the obligatory drinks.  Or clean.

4) If you tweet your posts, feel free to use the hashtag #MemorableMonday.

This week's choice:
"The strangest thing about all of this was that, before, in my old life, I hadn't been any of these things: not a student leader or an actress or an athlete. there, I was just average, normal, unremarkable. Just McLean."

~ What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen ~




This one struck me as I really think a lot of times in our lives, especially the teen years, we struggle with our own identity. Who are we and what do we stand for?

Any quotes strike you recently?

Smiles,
B

What Makes it a Favorite?

So many times I get asked, "What's your favorite book?" That never has a hard and fast answer for me. Some books I have had a relationship with since childhood. Some since adolescence. Some since the teen years. Some as an adult. I'm sure you're the same, right? And occasionally I will say it's a "current favorite". You know, what's caught in my head and my heart right now? But, the question is, will it last?

As a young child, I read Popcorn more times than I could count then, and possibly even now. I got Six Months to Live from Scholastic Magazine in 5th grade and read it in one sitting. I still own both copies now. :)

Thinking about this, I've made a decision. I have a 'tiered' favorites system. There's really no other way for me to think about it.

 I love some books like I love Oreos ~ I love them until they are gone, I'm sad they're gone, but I get over it after a day or so. Unfortunately for these Oreos books, they do not typically make it to my all-time favorites list.

♥ My Mamaw ♥

I love other books like extended family ~ I love them all the time, think of them fondly, and ultimately visit them occasionally (in thought for the book, in person for the living, breathing family member...).

My Parents

I love some like my brother, my parents, my husband ~ I love them with all my heart, will defend them no matter what others say, and they will always be there (For books that means my actual, physical bookshelf in case you're missing the analogy here... ☺).



Although some books may start out as extended family, they may end up an Oreo... or one I think is an Oreo will move on up to extended, sometimes even higher. Nothing ever stays the same, right? Why does it have to be so for books? It doesn't.At least, I don't think so.

Am I strange or does any one else have favorites like this? 

Follow Friday

Hosted by Parajunkee's View & Alison Can Read, the goal is to gain new followers and to follow new people yourself! :)

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

(Taken straight from the hosts)

• (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
• (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
• If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers.
• If you’re new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Follow Friday!

This week's question/activity:

Activity! Hopefully warm weather for most of us is here soon... so tell us about your favorite outdoor reading spot. Or take a picture!

Well, I'll be honest, and please don't throw thing... I'm not a fan of reading outdoors. I will, and have, and do, but the sun kills me when reading. Even in a shaded spot. I have to have my darkest sunglasses handy. I love the weather part of it, just not the brightness. I do like to sit out on our swing and read, or on a blanket while my kids play. I *did* enjoy reading on a beach, but don't live near one, so I guess that really doesn't count. lol

What about you? Where do you like to read?

Smiles,
B

Review ♫ Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist ♪

Title:  Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Author:  Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Publisher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date:  May 2006
Source:  Purchased, Own
Format:  Hardcover
Rating:  4 stars

~ Goodreads Synopsis ~

It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City—and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.

This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be—and where the next great band is playing.

Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you’ll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.

 

It's a damn darn good thing this is a great story. If it weren't for that, the language would have driven me away. I'm not against cursing by any means. In fact, I tend to use it more often than I should. So my theory with a book is this: If the profanity is enough to distract me, then it's probably a bit gratuitous. I would expect some, given the setting and all the punk rock references, but I did feel some of it was more for shock value than adding to the story.

Although it was a good story. At first it floundered a bit for me, as I tried to grasp onto the characters and get to know them a bit. They sort of just jumped into it. But I think the first person perspective works really well in this case. I was able to dive into their minds a bit, which helped develop them as people for me. I loved the fear of relationships; hell, even as adults we get that. But especially as teenagers, who isn't afraid of letting yourself go and let someone get to know you. The real you. Not the one you present everywhere.

It's funny. Really funny at times. It's insightful and thought provoking. The characters felt real to me, and I loved that. It's not about what is going on so much as it is about their growth. And sure, it may not take place over a year, or even a month; it's a one-night story. But it's a night of change, epiphanies, finding yourself, letting go, and having fun. 

Quotes I Loved

"I've given him more mixed signals than a dyslexic Morse code operator."

♪ Norah ♪

"If I'm a horrid bitch from the planet Schizophrenia, it's because boys make me that way."

♪ Norah ♪

"Are you serious?"
♪ Norah ♪
"Not as a rule, but in this case yes."
♪ Nick ♪

"'I Wanna Hold Your Hand.' First single. Fucking brilliant. Perhaps the most fucking brilliant song ever written. Because they nailed it. That's what everyone wants. Not 24-7 hot wet sex. Not a marriage that lasts a hundred years. Not a Porsche or a blow job or a million-dollar crib. No. They want to hold your hand. They have such a feeling that they can't hide."

♪ Dev ♪

"It was about the feeling, you know? She caused it in me, but it wasn't about her. It was about my reaction, what I wanted to feel and then convinced myself that I felt, because I wanted it that bad. That illusion. It was love because I created it as love."
♪ Nick ♪

"[Tikkun Olam] Basically, it says that the world has been broken into pieces. All this chaos, all this discord. And our job - everyone's job - is to try to put thie pieces back to gether. To make things whole again."
♪ Norah ♪

"With what you were talking about before. The world being broken. Maybe it isn't that we're supposed to find the pieces and put them back together. Maybe we're the pieces. ... Maybe, what we're supposed to do is come together. That's how we stop breaking."
♪ Nick ♪

"If I don't shut down my brain soon, my imagination will take off so far about what could be with this guy, that nothing will ever be able to just be."

♪ Norah ♪

  In the end, I did give it a higher rating than I might have due to the fact that I really enjoyed the story itself. Could some of the language been removed/replaced? Sure. Did I get past it? Yeah. Would I recommend this to a younger teen? Probably not, unless I knew them or their parents quite well. 

I haven't seen the movie, which is strange since I remember wanting to watch it but then I found out it was a book. Now that I've read the book I'll watch the movie. And given that I know Kat Dennings plays Norah, I really think Rachel Cohn wrote that part with her mind. ;) 

Have you read it? What did you think? If not, do you think you'll read it?

Smiles,
B

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesdays was started by MizB over at Should Be Reading,

To play along, simply answer the following three (3) Questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Currently Reading

 

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

I'm liking this one, but not *loving* it. 

Recently Finished

  

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

I really enjoyed this one. Review to be posted tomorrow. :) 

Might Read Next

 

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

I *have* to know what happens. I'm going to throw my anxiety over it out the window... anxiety defenestration. :)  Alex... Julian... Lena... What happens to them all? Where do they stand in the end? Does love win out?

What about you? What have you been reading?

Smiles,
B

♥ Fantabulous Follower Giveaway ♥

As I stated in a previous post, I wanted to give back to all my wonderful followers. I have really appreciated the growing support. 

This book *is* International as long as the Book Depository ships to you. :)

Again, thank you so much for following!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Smiles,

B

Spring Cleaning

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they provide a Top Ten topic for you to create your list, then you share it on their post so others can find you. :)

♥ Top Ten Books at the TOP of my 2013 Spring TBR List ♥

Me oh my. With so much going on in my life I'm supposed to try and read ten books in one season?  lol  I'm sure I can manage. Let's see... the ones I want to read as close to right away are... definitely not in any particular order...

Drumroll please...

Requiem by Lauren Oliver
 

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater


Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys


The Diviners by Libba Bray


What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen


Storyteller by Jodi Picoult


Flutter by Gina Linko


Lament by Maggie Stiefvater


Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern


Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn



What about you? What books are you looking forward to getting to, sooner rather than later?

Smiles,
B

 
 

Memorable Monday ♪ Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist ♫

Memorable Monday is a meme hosted by Escape in a Good Book.  I'm excited to join in on this one because I love quotes, which was the driving force behind the creation of Memorable Mondays.  I thank the ladies at Escape in a Good Book.

So... how do you participate?  It's simple ~

1) Share a quote that has captured your interest lately in a Memorable Monday post on your blog.

2) Come back here and leave the link to your post in the comment box below.  If you don't have a blog, I'd still love to hear read your quote.  Leave it in the comment box instead of a link to a non-existent blog.  :)

3) Visit other participants if you have time.  It's always nice to have visitors.  There's no overstaying your welcome this way, and they don't have to offer the obligatory drinks.  Or clean.

4) If you tweet your posts, feel free to use the hashtag #MemorableMonday.


This week's choice:
"No - when the rain falls you just let it fall and you grin like a madman and you dance with it, because if you can make yourself happy in the rain then you're doing pretty alright in life.”  

~Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

 

I love this one. And not just for the literal meaning, but the fact that life always thrown the metaphorical rain, storm, whatever, at you and if you can dance thru it, then you are definitely doing alright. :)

What about you? Have you read anything that struck you lately? 

Smiles,
B