APRIL READS

[rapa]

"Isn't it appropriate that the month of the tax begins with April Fools Day and ends with cries of 'May Day? " (Unknown)

Now that I've settled with Uncle Sam and have that monkey off my back, will treat myself to some good reading. Did finish a hard to put down murder mystery with a phenomenal ending. Check out THE KIND WORTH KILLING:a novel by Peter Swenson.

Currently am fully engrossed in Allen Eskens's THE LIFE WE BURY. Soo nice having some time to get back to relaxing with my stories.

What are you reading now?

[Flowergram]

Thanks for the great quote - never thought of April except for showers. LOL.  Thanks for the two books to add to my list.  I just finished Jonathan Kellerman's - Survival of the Fittest.  Am now reading - J.A. Jance's - Web of Evil.  Happy April Fools Day to you - no wooden nickels or such.

[Mandy Muffin]

I woke up at 3:00 AM and couldn't get back to sleep so I downloaded my free Amazon Prime book for the month of April.  I am reading "The One That Got Away" by Simon Wood http://www.amazon.com/The-One-That-Got-Away/dp/1612184081  While on-line from my Kindle Fire, I added "Still Alice" to my collection, which will be my next read.  "The Life We Bury"look good. 

I have to go back north in two weeks to handle some personal matters, so I will pop into my local library to try some of those old fashioned paper books that weigh a ton and are hard to hold. They may have some hot reads on their "one week only shelf." 

[Flowergram]

Thanks for the tip - The One That Got Away - now my April Prime read.  Have safe trip north.

[Carci]

rapa, I started The Kind Worth Killing and took it back to the library... didn't care for the wife killing concept...  maybe I should get it back, we usually like the same books.  lol

I am currently reading Killing Patton by Bill O'Reilly.  A friend highly recommended it and DH just read it and liked it so I was plodding through it. I am just getting to the Battle of the Bulge and am getting more interested now.  I read Killing Jesus and liked that one immensely... a very insightful look at the politics of the Holy Land during His lifetime.

Just got notification from the library that The Girl on the Train is waiting for me so must read quickly now.  lol

[Mandy Muffin]

"Still Alice" by Lisa Genova was probably the easiest and hardest book I ever read.  It was an easy read, as I started yesterday morning and finished this morning. Difficult, because each page reminded me of the agony my own mother suffered from about 1992 through 2002 until death relieved her of living in a private hell of confusion and trepidation, with accompanying mood swings. It is a great read and I would recommend it highly.  There is an excellent readers guide at the end of the book, as well as good references on learning more about the dread disease.  One that is not mentioned, but I found of great value is the reference guide, "The 36 Hour Day" that details the specific behaviors to expect and the ways to cope with the patient. http://www.amazon.com/36-Hour-Day-Alzheimer-Disease-Dementias/dp/14...

[rapa]

Thanks, Mandy, for recommending THE 36-Hour DAY. Have ordered it from library and they have copies available.

[Carolyn Tewell]

Hello Funseekers!

I am listening to Brian Freeman's SPILLED BLOOD on Audio. Now, this book is a long drama...a bit of suspense...a legal mystery. Might appeal to women...men, not so much since lots of dialog and commentary with a Teens in peril. Have no choice but to finish since no other books are in da' house.

CUBA STRAIGHTS by Stephen White got kicked to the curb...I mean, really, bringing a baseball player out of Cuba to play in America? Let's just say the actions were beyond my belief system. As I've said before I like more reality with my fantasy, usually love anything a FLORIDA writer publishes including this Author but had to pass on this one after 2 discs.

Reading or rather researching a lot of non-fiction stuff on science, diet, health and fitness so I am not totally bored.

I've got a few, hopefully WONDERFUL books on my list waiting for arrival at Library.

Stay tuned!~mellow

[Lip Service]

I hope everyone is having a good Easter (as I was writing this I got curious about why it was called Easter in English and lost an hour looking at the etymology of that word)

Mellow, I got a charge out of you feeling that bringing a baseball player from Cuba was a stretch of the imagination. We think of baseball as exclusive to its country of origin, however it has found home and is considered the national sport in many other countries such as Cuba, Japan, Dominican Republic and there are periodically talented players that make it to the major leagues. Baseball came to Cuba in 1868 and became popular precisely for national reasons. At that time Cuba was under Spanish occupation and bullfights was the considered the sport of the colonials and hated by the locals. Cubans took to baseball and forgot its American origins. Baseball also came to Japan around the same time, it has become ingrained in their culture (I came across some people there who were surprised  to learn that baseball was also "popular" in the USA) 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_in_Cuba

Mandy, I also got a recommendation for "the 36 hour day" from friends caring for people struggling with that awful disease. Although it destroys the person completely till nothing of who or what they were remains, it is even more devastating on their loved ones since they see them slip away. My wife visited her mother recently and made her a birthday card. She opened it and recognized that it was from her children and said emotionally "my kids!" she did not recognize that the person handing her the card was her own daughter

Frequently the care givers collapses after the patient passes away, they give everything and leave no reserve for themselves 

[Carci]

My FIL whom I loved dearly spent the last couple of years of his life in a nursing home with dementia.  We visited weekly and I remember the joy at  approaching him once when his face lit in recognition and just as quickly it faded and he slid back into his fog.  I couldn't cry at his funeral, we had lost him in bits and pieces long before that.  

As DH & I are getting older I'm not sure I want to read that book. It might be too scary.  

[Mandy Muffin]

A difficult decision is when the caregiver can no longer handle the patient, no matter how much they love him/her.  My father called us up one night from Connecticut (we lived in Ohio at the time) and told us he was leaving my mother because she was impossible to handle anymore.  They had been married nearly 60 years.  She was in early stage Alzheimer's. I agreed to have her come to my Ohio home and live for a while, where I was able to make an assessment of her needs and take a burden off of him. So many older folks live apart from their children and/or their children live busy lives.  Alzheimer's goes undetected or not treated properly and the relationships deteriorate.  Some of the symptoms are fairly disgusting. I found this particular guide book very helpful.   

[rapa]

This book has been transferred to my branch library and I will pick it up tomorrow. Am eager to read some of the coping mechanisms. Appreciate the recommend.

[Lip Service]

There are so many aspects to this disease that one would not have guessed.

For example there are flashes of aggression and anger which the patient can display without cause or warning.

Also many of the patients know of their condition but are in denial or in fear and never disclose it to their loved ones who only learn about it in some horrible circumstance. In the case of my MIL she was traveling from Florida to NY and somewhere in South Carolina she freaked out, started screaming to a police officer that she was being abducted. That's how their children learned of her condition, later they would be told that her personal physician had advised her three years earlier of the sad diagnosis but she kept if away from them. You can imagine how long it took to sort all this out and for them to start wrapping their minds around the situation.

Another friend has his parents dealing with this, his father is a 92 year old WWII veteran from a generation tempered and tested by the depression and war. He sees his wife's condition as his sole responsibility and is taking it head on. He cannot sleep eat or tend to his affairs but is intent on doing rigth by his wife. He needs the help of some health workers, his wife makes it a point of firing them or driving them away and the process restarts again every week. When they bring up the issue of nursing homes, she announces that she will go on vacation somewhere in Europe

Life can be tough when you are in such a situation