Wednesday, December 21, 2011

What's on Your Wish List?



I think my wish list at this point must be a mile and a half long. As I tour the blogosphere I keep adding new books to it. Sometimes those titles make it onto my Amazon Wish List and other times they don't. The nice thing is that now I can add Kindle titles to my wish list and not increase the clutter in  my office.

Here are a few books that made it onto my Amazon Wish List this year.


Michael J, Fox has been one of my favorite actors since he appeared in Family Ties. I've missed seeing him on the big screen as he's battled Parkinson's Disease, even though I know he stays busy and also does a lot of voice over work.

In some ways. Fox reminds me of a young Jimmy Stewart. Dignified, Fox carries himself in a certain way that seems so far gone from what we see in Hollywood today. Married for over 20 years, he and Tracey Pollan have managed to maintain a private life in a very public arena.

Fox has done so much to raise public awareness of Parkinson's, and I hope this translates to a cure.


I fell in love with James Garner in The Rockford Files. Garner's rugged good looks and his fast car certainly could turn a girl's head. We own some of the seasons on DVD and my girls (10 and 8) have been known to watch a few episodes.

I have to admit I don't know much about Garner's personal life. I was surprised when the book's description mentioned he was abused as a child and left home at the age of 14. I also didn't know he was awarded two Purple Hearts.

I've enjoyed watching Garner's career continue through the years. I can't say there's anything I've watched with him that I didn't enjoy.


A show that our family watched regularly--on our one TV--was The Waltons. It told the story of a family of seven children, their parents and grandparents during the 1930's, when America suffered through The Great Depression. Each episode is narrated by an older John Boy Walton, the eldest son and a writer. 

Mary McDonough portrayed Erin Walton. In her memoir, she talks about the overnight transformation from her normal kid life to child star. It also talks about the difficult transition she had after the show ended and her battle with depression.

What I didn't know until recently is that McDonough is friends with one of my favorite child stars, Alison Arngrim, who portrayed nasty Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie. They recently held a book signing together. If you haven't read Argrim's Confessions of a Prairie Bitch, you really need to. It's fabulous!

In the fiction world I am most interested in reading, The Strangers on Montagu Street by Karen White. I've had a chance to review all the others in the Tradd Street series, but I wasn't asked on this one. Because my TBR pile overwhelmed me this year, I didn't want to ask for it either, as I didn't know how soon I could get to it.

This series follows the ghostly adventures of psychic realtor Melanie Middleton, who we first met in The House on Tradd Street. She's still restoring her Charleston home, and this time is visited by a new ghost with some new friends who don't seem eager to leave.

Proving that a good cover is worth its weight in gold, I added Christmas in Sugarcreek solely because I loved the cover so much. I've never read anything by Shelley Shepard Gray, but I will try anything once.

You have an obedient Amish daughter who ends up working alongside a man who left Sugarcreek two years ago under a cloud of shame. Christmas is approaching and sparks fly between Judith and Ben. Maybe a Christmas romance is on the agenda.


This is another book whose cover caught my eye. Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist finds Georgie Gail as a proud, independent switchboard operator. When the telephone company sends Luke Palmer to watch over her shoulder, she's quite vexed about it. What she doesn't know, however, is that Luke is a Texas Ranger working undercover to infiltrate a notorious gang of train robbers.

Historical romances are a favorite of mine, so I would love a chance to read this one.

In addition to these, I would love to read the Love Comes Softly series by Janette Oke. So many people have raved about these books, and I recently won Love Begins on DVD, so I'm ready to explore these books.

What about you? What's on your wish list? What are some of the books you're excited to read in 2012?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am very fortunate in that I get to review many of the books which interest me. I need to try to sink my teeth into something more easygoing though—reading meatier, more informative titles is wonderful for the grey matter but sure takes more time to digest.

In lieu of listing any of my wishes, I would wish, for you, either an extra set of eyes or a slightly expanded area in the brain for nothing but reading focus!

I don't think time can be altered without affecting all of mankind, so that's out ;^)

Cheryl said...

Thanks for stopping by, Jeff. I've been trying to read lighter titles lately too. My brain must be on holiday.