Catching Fire

by jimmurph66 on February 15, 2012

in Books

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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Holy Smokes ( no pun intended ) but just under a week to read this book!  2012 is my year for reading I guess.

So first off – I’m a bit bummed out that there is only one more book in this story line!  I’m getting ready for the end already and I hate that feeling whey your getting ready for the end!  I could see this story going on at least through two more books…. just saying.

I really liked this book just as much as the first book.  It’s going in a great direction and I can’t wait to find out what happens in the end.  I also want to know how the country got to this point.

So many questions and I’m confident we will get the answers in the end.  A lot of people told me the second and third book were nowhere near as good as the first and I’ll confirm that this second book was just as good.

No spoilers here so I can’t say much except for the fact that the book went in a direction I was not expecting it to at all.  That is something I really like as predictability really sucks.  With all that said I’m already a few chapters into the third and final book – Mockingjay.

Once again 5 out of 5 stars.

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  • Tagged as: Fantasy, Fiction, Kindle, Sci-Fi, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

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    Capri Pizza ( Winter 2012 )

    by jimmurph66 on February 14, 2012

    in The Friends

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    A recent photo of some of the regulars during lunch hour.

    So this is what it looks like for me during the week – you can find me here some days during lunch hanging around with Fiore & Family ( the owners of this fine pizza restaurant ) along with a bunch of good friends.

    While there, I dine with a group of guys from Diamond Water Systems along with a few officers from the great City of Holyoke.  We have a great time when we are all there together, discussing everything from sports to the problems of the world.

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    Above you will see most of the regulars who frequent  Carpi during the work week.  Yes, that is ice cream that Fiore is serving up to the gang.

    Fiore is always a sport and great host to boot.  I love it when he gets that twinkle in eye and decides to do something out of the ordinary, like surprising us with ice cream or a special dessert from his cousins in Springfield who happen to have the best pastry shop in all of Western MA.

    I’ve been coming to Capri for 12 years now and without a doubt it’s a great Pizza joint with a character I will always think the world of!

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    “Don” Fiore and I at his restaurant Capri Pizza in Holyoke, MA.

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  • Tagged as: Barto, Capri Pizza, Denbo, Emo, Fiore, Geno, JD, Kevin, Manny

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    The Hunger Games

    by jimmurph66 on February 12, 2012

    in Books

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    The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

    Now I see what all the fuss is about, why everyone is talking about this series and why the movie was made.

    At this very moment I’m halfway done with the second book in the trilogy and I’m 100% hooked on this fantastic story. I hope to have all three books under my belt before the movie comes out so I can have a complete understanding of what these hunger games are all about.

    I’m guessing Suzanne Collins has hit the jackpot with this trilogy much like J.K. Rowling did with Harry Potter, as I’m sure they’ll follow up the first film with two more.

    I really enjoy Fantasy / Sci-Fi movies but I’ve never read any up until this series, and I have to admit I’ve already lined up a list of books to follow this series.

    Here’s whats great about the popularity of this book, a bunch of my friends are reading it at the same time as me.  Whats even better is I’ve got my 12 year old daughter reading the book along with us ( she is an incredibly slow reader I’m finding out! ).  Nevertheless I’m so happy that we’re involved together in something and I’m able to discuss with her each day as to what she has read.

    I have to give some thanks to Justin Bieber who must have tweeted that he’s reading the book, and I’m sure that’s what pushed her over the edge to comply with my pleas to read this with me.

    In the end, I’ve organized my friends and I along with my daughter to get together over a pizza and discuss the story.  So a book club was started thanks to Suzanne Collins Hunger Games – good deal.

    5 out of 5 stars.

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    All About Emma ( February 2012 )

    by jimmurph66 on February 7, 2012

    in The Kids

    Emma….

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    I love her new look with the glasses!

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    Just like Madonna – striking a pose.

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    Emma with Grandpa

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    Emma and MJ on a Saturday morning

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    Homeland

    by jimmurph66 on January 31, 2012

    in Television

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    Homeland

    I’m late out of the gate on this show by a whole season!

    A number of friends have been talking about this lately, telling me it’s one of the best shows on television right now.  So after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns – I just happened to be in the mood for some middle themed content so I decided to give this a spin.

    Well I got a fantastic surprise for sure – the show is off the hook!!  I ripped though the first season in a little over a week, and I absolutely love this show.  I have not stopped talking about it for the past three days to anyone who will listen!

    The last episode was so powerful it had me quite literarily on the edge of my seat.  Claire Danes could be my new favorite actress after the performance she put up in the last two episodes of the season – WOW!

    Showtime nailed it on this one – I can’t wait for the next season on this one!!

    5 out of 5 stars.

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    The Ghosts of Belfast

    by jimmurph66 on January 25, 2012

    in Books

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    The Ghosts of Belfast

    Wow!!!! Two book posts in a row!

    Two weeks driving back and forth to work listening to this incredibly detailed account of an IRA hit-man – Gerry Fegan who is haunted by the ghosts of the innocents that died by his hand.

    In order to rid the ghosts / shadows he must kill all of those above him that gave him the orders to carry out the executions.  Insert a beautiful blonde widow and her young daughter and the story get’s very interesting.

    It’s the detail that Stuart Neville puts into this story that really intrigues me and quite honestly kept me listening as I was ready on a few occasions to ditch this to the side because of the violence ( not that I’m a sissy or anything – I just don’t like when kids are involved, and thankfully it didn’t go that far! )

    As far as novels go this is the first I’ve read regarding the Northern Ireland conflict. Even though this is completely fictitious, it has sparked an interest in me to read more on the history of Northern Ireland.

    This is Neville’s first novel and I will without a doubt be reading another one these very soon.  Below the opening paragraphs from the book…..

     

    Maybe if he had one more drink they’d leave him alone. Gerry Fegan told himself that lie before every swallow. He chased the whiskey’s burn with a cool, black mouthful of Guinness and placed the glass back on the table. Look up and they’ll be gone, he thought.

    No. They were still there, still staring. Twelve of them if he counted the baby in its mother’s arms.

    He was good and drunk, now. When his stomach couldn’t hold any more he would let Tom the barman show him to the door, and the twelve would follow Fegan through the streets of Belfast, into his house, up his stairs, and into his bedroom. If he was lucky, and drunk enough, he might pass out before their screaming got too loud to bear. That was the only time they made a sound, when he was alone and on the edge of sleep. When the baby started crying, that was the worst of it.

     

    4.5 out of 5 stars.

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    The Imperfectionists

    by jimmurph66 on January 19, 2012

    in Books

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    The Imperfectionists

    My second book of the year and it’s only the third week!  I’m off to a great start with my reading challenge for 2012 of 12 books in a year.

    This book caught my eye simply because it takes place in Rome and it involves and English language newspaper.

    Sounded like a fun read to mix things up after A Thousand Splendid Suns!

    So each chapter was a story in itself about a different person that worked at this newspaper – all very interesting I would like to add.

    In the end it all gets tied together nicely and you get a good idea what it has been like over the past few decades as the news cycles change with the advent of the internet.

    I really liked this book but in the end I was thinking that it should have had more… I’m thinking it should have been a hundred pages longer exploring the character’s a bit more.

    Hey, what the hell do I know anyways about writing novels – I just know how to read them and enjoy them.  With that said, Tom Rachman and his debut novel made for an enjoyable quick read regardless of the fact that I thought it was a bit short.

    If history has taught us anything, Arthur muses, it is that men with mustaches must never achieve positions of power.

    - Arthur Gopal, The Imperfectionists

    4 out of 5 stars.

     

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  • Tagged as: Fiction, iPad, Kindle, Tom Rachman

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    It Could Happen…

    by jimmurph66 on January 15, 2012

    in Sports

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    The Patriots

    What a beautiful sunny but cold Sunday morning here in New England.  It’s nice and quiet and the kids are all still sleeping and I’m nursing an epic hangover from yesterdays activities and I swear I’m never going to drink again!

    My two favorite NFL teams have both advanced to their respective conference championship games, and I have to admit it’s nice when your teams are winning.

    The Patriots and the 49ers have made me proud this weekend with their wins, and there could be that chance that they see each other in the Super Bowl in a few weeks!

    Although the more I think about it, I would much rather see the Patriots get a chance to take back that game they had stolen from them by the Giants a few years back.

    Yeah…. that’s the ticket…

     

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    Baby’s Got Glasses

    by jimmurph66 on January 10, 2012

    in The Kids

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    Emma has new specs! She takes after her Dad with the poor vision.

    I think she’s as beautiful as ever with them – and she’s being a great sport wearing them all the time!

     

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    A Thousand Splendid Suns

    by jimmurph66 on January 9, 2012

    in Books

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    A Thousand Splendid Suns

    It must have been almost 10 years ago or so that I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and I remember reading it inside a weeks time ( which is very fast for me )  Now I’m asking myself why it took me until now – 2012 to pick up this book having loved The Kite Runner so much!

    This book picked right up where the Kite Runner left off – I read it in 4 days!

    I read at night before bed and this book had me waking up early in the morning with thoughts of it running through my head – a testament to a great story!

    As soon as I finished this book I immediatly googled the author to see if he has written any other  books because my interest in Afghanistan and it’s people, it’s suffering has me amazed.

    There were times while reading this story where I found myself muttering to myself like the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of OZ saying “What a World, What a World” after being doused with water.  I just can’t believe people live like this – that a group of lunatics like the Taliban get away with what they did?

    So the life story of two Afghani women living in Kabul whose lives happen to converge has left me amazed.

    I loved learning about the modern history of Afghanistan, from the Soviet invasion to the Taliban nonsense.  All through the eyes of these two captivating women Laila and Miriam.

    And that, …is the story of our country, one invasion after another…Macedonians. Saddanians. Arabs. Mongols. Now the Soviets. But we’re like those walls up there. Battered, and nothing pretty to look at, but still standing

    - Babi

    Fantastic read… and what a way to kick off my reading challenge for 2012!

    5 out of 5 stars

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  • Tagged as: Afghanistan, Fiction, iPad, Khaled Hosseini, Kindle, Soviets, Taliban

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