"H" Authors -- Home, Hearth, and Heartbeat

Author's note: A couple of years ago, my library system added blog posts to our website. Many of the posts were short collections of book reviews, often following a theme. I tried writing a few of these, but never felt like I could keep up with the thought-provoking themes of my librarian colleagues. It was a good challenge, a growth opportunity, and I was honored to have been selected to write for our site. After a few successes, and several wadded-up-and-thrown-in-the-trashcan failures, I realized that what I needed was my old writing partner to get me going again. Enter Polo! 

All of the books reviewed here are available as downloadable audiobooks.

Polo in "active sleeping" mode, ears cocked to listen to book

The Word is Murder

Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz, creator and contributor to many BBC television series (including Foyle’s War) and the popular Alex Rider books for young adult readers, also writes fiction for adults. Imagine that! Mr. Horowitz inserts himself into this story, supposedly observing former police detective Daniel Hawthorne as he works to unravel a suspected murder case. Horowitz cannot keep his fingers out of the pie, though, and he becomes enmeshed in the story. The narrator of the audiobook is amazing, bringing a radio drama presentation to his narration, and I’ll be looking for more audiobooks featuring Rory Kinnear.

Polo’s take: “I like accents when they’re easy to understand, like these. Hawthorne has a hard edge. Horowitz is nicer, believable but sometimes a little clumsy. Good woof!”

The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens

Brooke Hauser

Nonfiction stories of immigrant and refugee teens in a New York City high school and at home. Although we live in one of the most diverse communities in the nation, this is no New York City. We could relate to the students’ histories, though, because refugees are refugees, and their varied backstories have common threads of navigating life despite upheaval, relocation, poverty, and strong cultural identity. The staff at the International High School at Prospect Heights is diverse, quirky, and all-in dedicated to the students who come through their doors. For many of the teens, earning a high school diploma seems a dream – yet the staff do all they can to urge the students to aim for college, to be able to help their families in bigger and better ways over the long haul.

Polo’s response: “I wish I could smell the foods these people eat. The students and their families all sound very interesting… but the dad who comes to cook spicy Chinese dinner for his daughter could be my best new friend!”

A Deadly Grind

Victoria Hamilton

First in the series, “Vintage Kitchen Mysteries.” Antique shopping can be fun, except when it turns deadly. Avid collector Jaymie Leighton has her eye on a 1920’s Hoosier-brand kitchen cabinet, but after she brings it home she finds that someone else wanted it, too, and will do anything to get at it. Murder and lurking villains ensue, while Jaymie works on cleaning up her treasure and stumbles on an unexpected piece of history that is much more valuable than her beloved cabinet. The descriptions of the cabinet brought back memories of a metal cabinet that my parents had in their beach cabin. It was a heavy two-piece thing, too tall to be assembled, so the bottom part lived beside our sink while the top part held dishes and canned goods next to the stove. It was useful at the beach because its construction kept the mice out better than any wood cabinets could.

Polo’s feedback: “I like kitchens. There’s lots of make-fooding there, you know. And this story had food. This story also has a dog, but it’s small and not my kind of DOG. I could have helped a lot more. Still, a woof for this one.”

Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life

Jason Hanson

Scary at first, but practical “keep your head on a swivel” reminders and suggestions. Polo regularly assures me (barking at the top of his lungs at any crunch of gravel on the street) that he is keeping me safe from everything. That’s great, when I’m at home, but I do leave the house to go to work, shop, or dine out. For these situations, I appreciate being prompted to pay attention to my surroundings, to people who might be watching me a little too closely, and to anything that seems a little “off.” If I am confronted by someone with ill intent, the author impressed on me that I do not have to follow normal social custom in response. Move! Step forward or step aside, look them in the eye or look around for help, but do NOT freeze. Good to know.

Polo’s thoughts: “If I had more language, I would tell you these things. If I am with you, watch my body language. But I don’t ride in car, and I don’t go to the library, so listen to this book again to keep it fresh. Although, if you’d take me to restaurants, I could learn to like car rides.”

The Right Hand

Derek Haas

Spy thriller, black ops, car chases and hiding and explosions and murder… with so many twists and turns that you can only guess at the identity of the villain. The fast pace and action of this story count, for me, as aerobic exercise because of the heart-pounding effect. CIA agent Austin Clay is assigned to find and protect a young Hungarian woman who may have stumbled onto a deadly secret. Hit men are out to get her, there’s a mole in the CIA, the main characters are far from home and safety. Yikes! The scenes play like a movie in your mind, enhancing the effect of the drama.

Polo’s feedback: “Scary! Exciting! Kept raising the fur on the back of my neck!”

Today's Encounters-From-Afar

Sitting on my deck this morning, I heard a dull tapping up in the tree. It was our birch vandal -- a red breasted sapsucker, adding more bird graffiti to the trunk!

Went for a nature walk later (I covered two miles in about two hours) and came across various interestings --

Eek! This looks like a bald-faced hornet! Thankful for a telephoto lens!

I'm allergic to yellowjacket stings, but such an amazing insect!

Loved being able to get this view of the lake --

Just for fun, I zoomed in on the cattle resting across the lake. It wasn't until I edited photos tonight and super-magnified them that I noticed this fellow's horns! Glad I was far away.

"Honey, I found the problem with the dryer..." (Part Two)

"The dryer won't work."

Uh, oh. Golly, I just did my nails, and they're looking good. Now, I'll have to risk chipping them as I take the dryer apart to see what needs fixing. Horrors!

A few years ago, something happened that was eerily similar... here is a link to that post. That time, it took a while to find the source of the problem -- and what a creepy surprise!

If you only judged the obvious common denominators in these posts, you might think that I should never do my nails again. Nail polish leads to dryer malfunction, right? Nah. It's been five years between troubles, and I've had pretty nails many times in between. 

I think it's time to look for a new color. After all, what could go wrong?

Practical Tips for Practical Jokes

I pulled a good one on a thirsty coworker today. She's marshaling four -- FOUR! -- family members to devise a reciprocation. I wonder...

Although I enjoy playing practical jokes very much, I have my own code of conduct in this matter. After all, I want to ensure that the jokes are harmless enough that I can continue to play them 364 days a year. Therefore, here are a few of the guidelines that I use to design and execute a funny prank. Take what you like, leave the rest.

First, do no harm. Ever since that time in junior high PE when another girl pulled my shorts down to my knees, I have had no desire to do anything that would cause serious embarrassment or injury.

Second, who's gonna clean it up? Consider the end result. If you prop a cup on the top of a door, what will you have to pick up off the floor later? Marbles would make an amazing noise, but they'll roll away and perhaps pose a hazard to someone else. Either use a single tennis ball or find small lightweight objects that won't roll away.

Third, leave no marks. Need I say more?

Fourth, subtlety is most efficient. Elaborate set-ups are fine for special occasions, but most of my stuff is done on the fly. Time is of the essence if a person wants to remain in good standing with her supervisors. Initiate a casual conversation about rabid squirrels, right before you know someone is going to turn around and to find a stuffed animal staring them in the face.

Finally, weigh your options. Is this a "good" day to prank this particular person? How will he/she ultimately respond? Does the victim possess adequate maturity to refrain from whacking you over the head with the nearest baseball bat?

After running through all these rules of prankster etiquette, I knew how to *help* my coworker today. She was helping a family get library cards, and had a frog in her throat. We are not in the habit of having unsecured beverage containers in the library, but she didn't blink an eye when I showed up with a paper cup. In the back room, I had found a few little strips of clean paper. (Strips are easier to pick up than tiny confetti!) Coming around the side of her desk, in full view of her patrons, I tripped and spilled the "water" all over her lap. Riotous laughter ensued, witnesses provided safety against immediate retaliation, and a good time was had by almost all... But go back and read my opening paragraph again. If I suddenly sprout green feathers and squawk like a chicken, you'll know that my friend fixed me!

In Case of Eruption -- RUN!

It started raining -- a very steady drizzle -- an hour before this weekend's football game. Bummer. That meant I had to keep the book dry, and could not wander the sidelines but had to sit in the stands. The good news? The stadium announcer (more about him another time) and his spotter were mostly accurate in announcing yardages and lines of scrimmage, so I had a good back-up if I couldn't judge the placement. The other good thing was that I got to sit with the coaches' wives, and didn't have to hear parents' criticisms.

Further good news was that I got material for a blog post.


I spoke with a staff member of an elementary school. A good part of her afternoon was spent conducting a lahar drill. In the event of a volcanic eruption of Mount Rainier, there's a good chance that tons and tons of mud and water and ash and mud will come streaming down the valleys around the mountain. Her school is in a valley, so at least twice a year they need to practice taking all the kids to higher ground. Quickly. Every one of them. If there's a lahar alert, the estimate is 30 minutes before that school building is history. Wow.

This situation is rather unusual, and perhaps where you live the students don't have these drills. A few weeks ago, a Red Cross trainer mentioned that Washington State has the potential for more types of disasters than any other state. Alrighty then. I'm quite pleased to live on a hill, where we don't have to run from lahars but only run from the people running from them.

As I was searching for photos of evacuation-route road signs, I found one that is hinged. That would seem to indicate that there's an "off season" for eruptions, when they can fold up the warning sign and let folks live their lives. Huh. If we ever have to move off this hill, I would consider living in that neighborhood.