Mandy suggested that I throw in a whole new segment on SATURDAYS. I know, right? We’re really getting daring with this whole blogging thing. I bet you are ECSTATIC, though, aren’t you? I mean, who wouldn’t be? Now you don’t have to suffer through an ENTIRE weekend with NO Larrie fix. Plus, this is a GOOD addition to the blog. You’ve been wondering when I would finally get around to reviewing books since I’m such a bibliophile. I’m here to tell you internet that YOUR WAIT IS OVER! HOORAY!

Louise Plummer is my HERO. Or at least one of them. And she’s a hilarious author.

I heard a preview of Finding Daddy, her latest book, when I heard her read it at the Gateway Barnes & Noble. She introduced the book by saying something along the lines of, “I got to kill somebody in this one,” huge smile on her face laughing.

When the book finally came out, Amazon shipped it to me immediately. Hooray for pre-orders. When it arrived, I was SUPPOSED to be reading texts for classes, but why would I want to read those when I had a brand new murder mystery just waiting for me? I set aside my nights for it. In the end, I only had to set aside one night as I read it all in one sitting.

That equals love. When I can’t put a book down, when I read a novel in one sitting, when I give up sleep for it, that equals love and it’s true, I loved reading this book.

Quick summary: Set in the avenues in Salt Lake City, Mira Kent asks her mom to tell her about her dad. All her mom will tell her is that Mira has all his good qualities. Before long, Mira is on a mission, searching for information on him with the help of her two best friends. And Mira’s grandmother cracks me up.

I can’t remember the last time that a murder mystery made me laugh AND cry. Yes, it’s written for a young adult audience, but that just means that adults won’t get lost in huge vocabulary or wound up in excessively long sentences (think Henry James).

Also, Louise wrote the crack-you-up, highly praised novel, The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman. I gave it to G for her birthday and she agreed: good book.

When I was a SAHM to two toddlers I attended a FHPE Meeting where LDS author Louise Plummer was the guest speaker. She challenged each of us to write more often in our journals, and not just write the ‘typical’ types of entries, but to make interesting lists.

Louise suggested that we empty out our purses and record each and every thing we found inside. Or that we clean under our bed and do the same. Though she admitted that such lists can be embarrassing (who really wants to record the miscellany found under their bed for posterity?), she assured us that these lists would be of great value someday. More than anything, lists like these give a window into the past. For example, wouldn’t you be curious what your grandmother carried in her handbag? Or wouldn’t it be amusing to read a list of what your mother found in the back of her closet when she was your age?

So, true to Louise’s challenge, I went home and started making lists. My list of what I found under the couch on April 22, 1998 probably means very little to any of you, but when I read it this morning it brought back a flood of memories—much more more evocative of a particular time and place than my typically whiny journal entries. So today my challenge to you is: dive under a piece of furniture or dump out your purse and make a list. You can share it here or you can write it in your journal (or on your personal blog). And someday, ten years or more later, you’ll be glad that you did!

April 22, 1998: On my living room floor and under my couch…
2 pillows, 2 empty pillowcases, A folded thermal blanket, Half-full bucket of toys, “D.W.” doll, Yesterday’s junk mail, Yesterday’s newspaper, Primary Secretary notebook, Boy’s dirty sweatpants, Periscope, 2 empty old purses for dress-up, An empty plastic watering can, Haldor Laxness’ Paradise Reclaimed [Note: a MoLit classic!], Yellow cloth bag full of train toys, Library receipt, Daughter’s shoes, My shoes, Philoctetes toy (from Hercules movie), One inside-out sock, Son’s bike helmet, Pocahontas book, Plastic frog, Mickey Mouse umbrella, Blue gingham gift bag.