Favorite new Show-Sunny in Philadelphia

My favorite new show to watch from Netflix is "Always Sunny in Philadelphia". I didn't think I was going to laugh so much. We watched to first CD with the 5 episodes on it in just two nights! I can't wait until our next CD comes in the mail. yah! for Netflix!!

Deathly Hallows Review

J.K. Rowling’s 7th and final book Deathly Hallows is one of my favorite books of her series. Rowling has been building up the story to this climactic point throughout the series. Deathly Hallows would have lost its appeal to me had I not read the first six books. In the final book Harry, Ron and Hermione leave the familiar setting of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry to search for horcruxes so that they can destroy Lord Voldemort.

From reading all of the books I have been completely immersed in everything that is the wizarding world! I love every second that I’m inside of the story because there is a total world that has been created by Rowling.


The reason that Deathly Hallows is one of my favorite books in the series is because of the action packed adventures that Harry, Ron and Hermione find themselves in over and over as they run across the country. The other battle that I find so intriguing is Harry’s internal battle over whether to hunt Hallows or Horcruxes. There have always been lessons to learn from Rowling’s books, most of the key lessons are usually given by Albus Dumbledore at the end of the books. It seemed like there was a lesson going on through the entire book Deathly Hallows. Harry seemed to be faced with following the path of searching for Horcruxes and at the same time that path was the selflessness being learned, or to search for Hallows and follow a selfish path.

In Hallows all of the questions I have had through the series about how the books would end were answered in pieces as the story progressed. I loved the intensity, and the fast rate the story unfolded. What I found the most frustrating in reading the book was Harry’s believing what Rita Skeeter wrote in her book “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.” I kept wanting to yell at Harry and ask him how he could believe Rita when she wrote so many lies about him in The Goblet of Fire. I did understand that Rowling was trying to use a vehicle to let us (the readers) know things about Dumbledore that we would not otherwise know. So this just showed how clever of a writer J.K. Rowling is.


I love how she develops her stories by using humor and building on characters and their relationships with each other. Rowling’s also created her own language, only people who have read the book would know what a “muggle” (non magical person) is, or know that “levi corpis” means that you are lifting a person into the air. There are so many other examples, people who have read the book know the different meanings to the words and stories, so that if someone who hasn’t read the book was listening, wouldn’t be able to understand the conversation.

I love knowing the language of the books, and feeling like I personally know each of the characters. When I am reading the books I am rooting for Harry, or I am laughing at something stupid Ron has said to Hermione, or I am shaking my head at Hermione and any of her crusades she is on, whether it is house elf rights, or women’s equality. I can read any of the books in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series over and over again.

--rose reviewed--

Favorite Children and Audio books

I have always loved to read outloud to my kids. When my son was very young, we would stack every dr. seuss book we had and read all of them. I also loved reading him Where the Wild Things Are!

As the kids got older we found books to read that would require atleast a half hour of sitting, it is a great way to cuddle and feel close and share something that only books can bring.

Some of my favorites to read: A Year Down Yonder; a girl is sent to live with her independant grandma during the depression while her parents look for work. It is silly and witty because the girls grandma is always up to high jinx, the grandma is not conventional by any means. We also found this book on tape, so the kids have enjoyed listening to it when they go to bed.

We love all the Ramona series. I have especially loved reading these to my middle daughter. Ramona evokes so much empathy from both me and my daughter. Because Ramona isn't perfect, and her thoughts are sometimes what any girl might think, my daughter connected easily to Ramona's struggles.

Right now I am trying to read Anne of Green Gables to my daughter, she is 7 years old, I think I might have to wait just one more year for her to be really ready for that experience. My daughter does love the way Marilla and Matthew talk, and she loves Anne's imagination, but next year she will get more from the story.

I have lots of other favorite reads, but those are at the top of my list. And of course I keep listening to Harry Potter over and over again on CD, it is a standard now in my family. My parents listen to it also, so we always have discussions about the series.

Our other favorites to listen to are the Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia and Anne McCaffrey series. These stories are packed with good story telling that we can NEVER get enough of.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

We read A Thousand Splendid Suns a couple of months ago. It was anothe of my favorite reads. The picture on the side has no connection to the book, I just wish I could wear something like that and look that good, minus the fake tatoo. Back to the book, I think the most driving force behind it for me was the realness of the situations. I've never experienced the life, or the culture, but it was written in a way that I could relate, or feel empathy for what those women had to endure. I was sad, and touched by the story in A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Roses take on politics

I watched the presidential debate tonight! I was impressed some of the time when either candidate would drive a point home, but mostly I was appalled that these two men are our choices. For me, the biggest driving force on who I will be continuing to support, is where the future lies for those Americans who will have to be taxed out of their hard work if Obama is elected. I want to see my parents keep what they've worked so hard for.

The Red Tent

The Red Tent has to be one of my favorite reads. It touched on many of the elements that are essential to making a book monumental in my book reading memory. The Red Tent was layered in characters, and multiple stories unfolded around the one main character Dinah. I was enthralled with the history, with the way of life, and with the relationships between the women in the book. I was so lost in the story that I would be reading and I would look up at the clock and a half an hour had passed and it felt like it was only af few minutes.