Mutant Message Down Under - Marlo Morgan

An American woman is summoned by a remote tribe of nomadic Aboriginals who call themselves the "Real People" to accompany them on a four-month-long walkabout through the Outback. While traveling barefoot with them through 1,400 miles of rugged desert terrain, she learns a new way of life, including their methods of healing, based on the wisdom of their 50,000-year-old culture. Ultimately, she experiences a dramatic personal transformation.

Mutant Message Down Under recounts a unique, timely, and powerful life-enhancing message for all humankind: It is not too late to save our world from destruction if we realize that all living things - be they plants, animals, or human beings - are part of the same universal oneness. If we heed the message, our lives, like the lives of the Real People, can be filled with this great sense of purpose.

An incredible tale.

The journey this woman went on is fascinating, and she writes such powerful messages. There are definitely lessons in this book that everyone should learn.

This book has motivated me to try to live more in harmony with nature and the world in general.

However, I don't believe this is a book everyone would enjoy. It is not written as a "story" in the traditional sense; there is no climax, no denouement. Morgan simply relates different happenings over the course of her journey.

If you are looking for profound life lessons, then this is the book for you; but if you are looking for just a "story", then you may not enjoy this one as much.

The Watchers - Jon Steele

Meet Marc Rochat, a man-child who has devoted his life to being the bell ringer at the Gothic Lausanne Cathedral, one of the greatest architectural structures in the world. Eerie things have been going on in and around his church, including tremblings in the underground crypt and a variety of gruesomely murdered bodies showing up in nearby streets. Across the square from the cathedral lives Katherine Taylor, a beautiful young American woman who is making phenomenal money as one of the highest-priced call girls in Switzerland; she's a bit too introspective for her own good and, unfortunately for her, much too observant of her clients' peccadilloes. Rochat's and Taylor's lives collide with Jay Harper, a British private eye who has been sent to investigate the killings and other strange doings; alas, he has no memory of who hired him or precisely why he was chosen for the job. And now all the clues are pointing skyward, where fallen angels are said to haunt Lausanne.

Incredible!

I'm not one for re-reading books, you know how it's going to end so what's the point? However, with this book I can see myself reading it time and again because I am so in love with the characters that I just want to be engulfed in their world again, forever.

This book had me so captivated that I found myself reading it in lectures, on the bus, even at work (ssh don't tell my boss!). I wish I had a rating higher than "Loved it!" because this book has far surpassed anything on this blog thus far.

The storyline, the characters, the world were written so well. Tiny threads you think insignificant, come flying back to smack you in the face with their importance. Everything weaved together in a stunning tapestry.

I would recommend this book to everyone. This is one read that you will definitely not regret.

Tough Cookie - Diane Mott Davidson

When caterer Gold Shulz is offered a temporary stint hosting a cooking show for PBS, she jumps at the chance. After all, she could use the money - not to mention the great exposure. Plus taping the shows at Colorado's posh Killdeer Ski Resort will be fun. A little cooking, a little chitchat. What could go wrong?

The answer: everything! When Goldy has to do one of her shows live for a PBS telethon, the broadcast is riddled with culinary catastrophes - from the Chesapeake Crab Cakes right down to the Ice-Capped Gingersnaps. But the deadliest dish of all comes after the cameras go off - and a baffling accident claims a life. Then a series of suspicious mishaps places Goldy's own life in jeopardy, and she knows she'd better whip up her own crime-solving recipe, and fast - before a deadly dash of danger ends her cooking career once and for all.

A definite page-turner!

Goldy is a favourite character of mine, and the intense things that happen in her life always keep me coming back for more.

Tough Cookie is very well written, and the ending took me by surprise. I had my own theories about "whodunnit" and, as per usual, I was wrong.

The book speeds along at a pace that doesn't allow any "dry spells". It keeps you thinking "Just one more page then I'll go to bed" until it's 5am and you realise you have to be up soon.

My only issue with the book was that sometimes I couldn't remember the connections between certain individuals. However, within moments of me starting to get confused, Davidson quickly tossed out a tidbit that helped me to re-connect the dots.

Overall, a fantastic book.