Stealing Jake by Pam Tillman

Livy O'Brien used to be known as LightFingered Livy, but that was back in the days when pickpocketing was a way of life for her--a survival mechanism. Now she is a Christian and living in a small, but burgeoning town outside of Chicago. She lives with Mrs. Brooks at the local orphanage. Her experiences from the harsh childhood of living on the streets and stealing to survive have become a catalyst to her heart for saving children stuck in similar circumstances. All she wants to do is save the children and show them God's love.

Livy is not looking for love or marriage. Although, life has a way of sneaking up on us and she finds that out first hand. She never expected she'd literally run into the man of her dreams. Jake Russell is the Sheriff's Deputy and he has his own problems to deal with--an outstanding loan on his family's farm, investigating the culprits behind a surge of robberies in town and dealing with grief over the loss of close family and friends, in a mining accident. He wasn't looking for love either. God has different plans for their lives and He shows up in the little town of Chestnut, Illinois...in a big way.

Stealing Jake stole my heart from the get-go. Ms. Hillman's writing style easily swept me into the story and I wanted to devour each chapter and actually went to bed late several nights all because I wanted to read just one more chapter.

One of the most appealing factors was the character development. I really got to know Livy and Jake and all of the other fascinating people of Chestnut. Ms. Hillman's attention to detail was just the right amount to give me enough information about the historical setting and to see the scene without boring me to tears with endless, useless minutiae.

After I finished reading Stealing Jake and I visited Ms. Hillman's website, I was surprised to learn that this was her debut novel. It read nothing like a debut. I thought I was reading the work of a seasoned multi-published author. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Ms. Hillman's future novels. Stealing Jake is one book that I highly recommend. This is a free Kindle book!

Coming Soon To A Theater Near You

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
by Michael Lewis

Moneyball is a quest for something as elusive as the Holy Grail, something that money apparently can't buy: the secret of success in baseball. The logical places to look would be the front offices of major league teams and the dugouts, perhaps even in the minds of the players themselves. Lewis mines all these possibilities - his intimate and original portraits of big league ballplayers are alone worth the price of admission - but the real jackpot is a cache of numbers - numbers! - collected over the years by a strange brotherhood of amateur baseball enthusiasts: software engineers, statisticians, Wall Street analysts, lawyers, and physics professors." "What these geek numbers show - no, prove - is that the traditional yardsticks of success for players and teams are fatally flawed. Even the box score misleads us by ignoring the crucial importance of the humble base on balls. This information has been around for years, and nobody inside Major League Baseball paid it any mind. And then came Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics." Billy paid attention to those numbers - with the second-lowest payroll in baseball at his disposal he had to - and this book records his astonishing experiment in finding and fielding a team that nobody else wanted. Moneyball is a roller coaster ride : before the 2002 season opens, Oakland must relinquish its three most prominent (and expensive) players, is written off by just about everyone, and comes roaring back to challenge the American League record for consecutive wins.

The book is recommended by Dominic and Tony.

The movie is starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

Slim to None by Jenny Gardiner

The book is very funny, often unexpectedly touching and insightful. It also includes recipes at the end of many of the chapters. Overall it left me hungry for chicken and crab with cheese in phyllo and for more of Jenny Gardner's writing. Jenny Gardiner's Slim to None is simply great fun.

Jenny Gardiner's new novel, Slim to None, starts with a marvelous premise. Abby Jenning's, the food critic for a major New York newspaper, eats her way out of her job. One of the job requirements of reviewing restaurants is to remain incognito. After a photo of her appears in a competing newspaper, and her girth makes the prospect of disguising herself unlikely, her editor reassigns Abby to a desk job for six months. In that time she needs to lose weight, as well as come to terms with her relationship with food, her husband and a family she didn't know existed. She is assisted in her efforts by a homeless man who may not be as he seems, her dog Cognac, and a philandering friend. She must also do battle with a decidedly sneaky and corrupt colleague, who is standing in for her as restaurant reviewer and wants her job on a permanent basis.

Thank You Notes by Jimmy Fallon

I started reading this book on a whim and I am so glad I did. I am a huge Jimmy Fallon fan which was my basis for picking up the book, but I never expected to laugh out loud at it. It is short and comical; easily read in an hour.

Jimmy Fallon is very thankful. And in this first book to come from his TV show, he expresses his gratitude for everything from the light bulb he's too lazy to replace to the F12 button on his computer's keyboard. He thanks microbreweries for making his alcoholism seem like a neat hobby. He thanks the name "Lloyd" for having two L's. Otherwise it would just sound like "Loyd." He thanks the slow-moving family walking in front of him on the sidewalk. Without this "barricade of idiots," he might never have been forced to walk in the street and risk getting hit by a car in order to get around them. He's thankful to you, the person reading this right now. It means you're considering buying this book. You should do it. You will be thankful that you did.
About the Author
Jimmy Fallon is the host of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Fallon was chosen by NBC as the replacement host when Conan O'Brien left in 2009. Before landing his own show, Fallon was a beloved cast member on Saturday Night Live for 5 years. Fallon has hosted several awards shows, and acted in numerous films, including Woody Allen's Anything Else and Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous.

Fahrenheit 451

I thought I would highlight this book today because the title sounds HOT and todays high temperatures are forecast to be over 100 degrees!

I have never read this book, or any books from Ray Bradbury, I wonder why? It sounds like the kind of book I like.

The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning, along with the houses in which they were hidden.

Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires. And he enjoyed his job. He had beena fireman for ten years and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs or the joy of watching pages consumes by flames, never questioned anything until he met a seventeen year old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid. Then Guy met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think. And Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do.

This book was originally published in 1953!