Last Chance Harvey

Last Chance Harvey with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson is a story about friendship, love, and last chances. Harvey flies to London for his daughter's wedding where he meets a surveyor at the airport. They start talking over lunch and immediately connect with each other. Both of them aren't satisfied with their lives, both of them want things to be a little different, and now might be their last chance.

Thirteenth Tale

One of the best books I have read in a while, The Thirteenth Tale, is a novel you won't be able to put down. Biographer, Margaret Lea, receives a handwritten almost illegible letter from the famous author Vita Winters. "Come on Monday, " it says, she is finally willing to tell the truth about her incredible life. Thus unfolds the story of love, loss, twins and fire and the Angelfield family. I wanted to know the ending so badly I finished the book in three days!

Avatars

I had such a good time making up this avatar. An avatar is an Internet user's representation of him/herself. What's especially fun is that it doesn't need to look like you currently look, it could be a completely different you. You also pick a background and if you would like items to hold. You can go to http://avatars.yahoo.com/
to create your own avatar.

Vampires Everywhere

My sister introduced me to a new vampire series--the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. In this series, Sookie Stackhouse is a telepath, and a couple of years ago synthetic blood was developed which allows vampires to claim their existence and become legal citizens in some countries. In the first book, Dead Until Dark, a hot vampire named Bill has walked into the bar where Sookie waitresses in Northern Louisiana, and a couple women in the area have been killed. The series is part supernatural fiction and part mystery, and if you like it there are now 9 books in the series which will give you plenty of reading material. There is a little bit of sex in these books, and there is also a television series based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels called True Blood on HBO in case you can't get enough after reading all the books.
Other vampire books you might like include, for Adults: Robin McKinley's Sunshine, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series (FYI:there is a fair bit of sex and violence in this series), for teens: Stephenie Meyer's Twilight quadrilogy, Melissa De La Cruz's Blue Bloods series, and PC Cast's House of Night series.

Photo Fun

As part of some additional training for work, I came across a website that does all kinds of fun things with photos: http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/ . You can make magazine covers, calendars, mosaics, Warhol art and so much more. The training material I was following suggested this site would be perfect for students to use as something different for their homework.
I made a trading card using the "Trading Card" application, and I was really surprised by how much fun I had. I am looking forward to trying some of the other applications. I think I might try one called "Framer" next and turn a photo into a stamp. Have Fun!

Ghost Town

A grumpy New York Dentist, Bertram Pincus, goes in for routine surgery and leaves with the ability to see dead people in, Ghost Town. It stars the wonderful Ricky Gervais from the BBC show The Office, Greg Kinnear from As Good as it Gets and Tea Leoni from the Family Man. It is a witty movie full of laughs and the occasional touching tear as he tries to reconcile is new ability with his life.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is a delightful fictional book told in letters with the most charming and original characters. Set in post WWII England, it tells the story around writer Juliet Ashton who is looking for the subject for her next book. Through correspondence she discovers the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which is a reading group from Guernsey, a British island in the English channel, that was occupied by the Germans during the war. Since it does involve WWII, there are some heavy moments when the characters are describing their experiences, but the story of their lives is captivating. And as one character in the book says, "Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books."