Just finished reading Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson. Last month she offered free copies of the book to anyone who agreed to read it and post a review on his/her website. I'm not great with reviews, but here goes....

The story is about a woman named Heather who is a compulsive shopper and who lives in a house with her husband and son that is too big and has too much stuff. This all starts to bother her, especially after she makes a wrong turn one night and winds up at a homeless shelter in a dicey part of town. Soon after that, she lands with her car in a ditch and finds her way to the home of two sisters in their 90's who are still going strong. She ends up staying with them for awhile and giving a lot of thought to her life.

I could very much relate to the anxiety of having too much stuff. While I'm not a total shopaholic, I own too many clothes and too many CDs. (I'm not into iPODS.) Sometimes I wish I didn't have to have the latest style or an artist's latest CD.

I also wish I were more of a giving person. I'm pretty stingy about volunteering my time sometimes.

There are also themes of forgiveness in the novel and I could relate to those as well because I do not forgive easily.

All in all, I'd say Quaker Summer is an easily read novel with much food for thought. The dialog tries to be very hip which sometimes rings true and sometimes seems affected, but I'll admit to enjoying the references to many modern stores and conveniences. I also noticed how much the novel reflected much of what is going on in Lisa Samson's own life which I've been reading about in her blog www.lisasaomson.typepad.com.

This is only the third Lisa Samson novel I've read, but I still have to say my favorite is The Church Ladies.

Does anyone know where in the world Julie Lafontaine is? I'm speaking of the Julie Lafontaine who wrote and sang the song "On A Mission" which is on the album "Lumière du Monde", the official album of World Youth Day 2002. The song was also the official song of "World Day for Consecrated Life" in 2003.

The song is very catchy and upbeat and Julie's voice reminds me somewhat of a young Susan Ashton. I thought for sure by now we'd be hearing more from her, but I can't find anything.

I'm in heaven! I just found out that the "Vicar of Dibley" had a two-episode special that aired on the BBC this past December and both episodes are already on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9GOz6VdiEk&mode=related&search=. Can't wait to view them both.

On the recommendation of B.J. Hoffs, I'm reading Monday Morning Faith by Lori Copeland. It's an easy read filled with all the gentle humor I enjoyed in the Heavenly Daze series.

For anyone who is interested in Catholic contemporary music, please check out the online magazine Grapevine at www.gvonline.net. Susan Bailey is the creator and editor of this magazine and she also produces a weekly podcast that is accessible from the home page. I actually give my opinion on this week's podcast. The question was, "What helps American Catholics sing?" Since I've been a cantor for about the past fifteen or sixteen years, I felt qualified to offer an opinion.

I'm currently reading Wives Behaving Badly by Elizabeth Buchan which is a most satisfying sequel to Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman. Am also reading The Thrill of the Chaste by Dawn Eden. As a still-single 40-something, I can relate to many of her experiences and feelings. Check out her blog at www.dawneden.com/blogger.html.

Watched the first episode of The Duchess of Duke Street yesterday and I'm hooked. It's about a young woman who works her way up from skivvy to chef to owning her own hotel in the early 1900's. It aired on Masterpiece Theatre in the mid-70's.

Just for the record, I was totally thrilled that "Ugly Betty", America Ferrera, and Helen Mirren won at the Golden Globes last night. I'm a big fan of both America Ferrera and Helen Mirren....but did anyone think Warren Beatty's acceptance speech was just a little bizarre and rambling?

So, I'm not much of a blogger, but I just switched over to the new Blogger.

It's freezing cold outside here in the Metroplex and the skies are grey. My cat Berto is going stir-crazy. He likes the outdoors, but this is too cold even for his furry body.

In case anyone is interested, my favorite blogs are french-word-a-day.com, dawneden.com/blogger.html, and bjhoffgracenotes.typepad.com.