Happy New Year!!! A friend of mine opened a fabulous new wine shop in Bellevue, Washington, called Vino 100, just in time to help you ring in the New Year with style! Her store offers "100 great wines for $25 or less." Vino 100 has stores opening all over the country... but, of course, my friend's place is one of the best! If you are a wine lover like I am, be sure to check out http://www.vino100.com/locations.fx to see if there's a location near you! And if you live in the Seattle area, stop by the Vino 100 store in the all-new Lincoln Square (700 Bellevue Way NE #110, Bellevue, WA 98004), and tell them that Jacey Ford (a.k.a. Beverly Brandt) sent you!

Okay, I’ll admit it. I like weird, quirky non-fiction books. I’m always left wondering, “What in the world made the author think of writing this?” The last time I was at Barnes & Noble, I picked up a couple of fun ones. 

Did you know that you’re more likely to be murdered on January 1 than any other day? That that itch you can’t seem to scratch could be caused by “a spider bite, the first sign of herpes, or Streptococcus-A, a flesh-eating bacteria that destroys tissue so quickly it can kill you in days?” That 70% of both men and women fantasize about someone else while having sex? Want more things to worry about in your life? Get The Paranoid’s Pocket Guide: Hundreds of Things You Never Knew You Had to Worry About by Cameron Tuttle!

Ever wanted to know how it feels to drown? To be attacked by a shark? Be electrocuted? Survive in the desert? Go nine rounds with a heavyweight boxer? Hey, I told you that I like weird books! This one is very well written, fast-paced, and lets you know what it’s like to experience all of these things that we don’t want to live through ourselves  Extreme Encounters: How It Feels to Be Drowned in Quicksand, Shredded by Piranhas, Swept Up in a Tornado, and Dozens of Other Unpleasant Experiences by Greg Emmanuel.

posted 6.1.05

Until The Apprentice, I never really got hooked on reality TV.  While everyone else in the country was cheering on their favorite Survivor contestant, I guess I was busy watching Rachael Ray and Iron Chef on The Food Network!  So when I heard “The Trouble With Love Is” in the movie Love Actually, I had no idea that singer Kelly Clarkson had climbed her way to fame on American Idol.  After hearing that song, though, I was hooked!  I bought Ms. Clarkson’s latest CD, Breakaway, and would have already worn grooves in it if CD players actually wore grooves in CDs!  My favorite song on the album is “Walk Away.”  I blew out the driver’s side speakers last time I cranked this one up . . .

I’ve loved Lawrence Block ever since I read Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, which is one of his books on writing. Oddly enough, though, I’ve never read one of his fiction novels. I was in the grocery store the other day stocking up on my favorite lunch item (Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Soup with White & Wild Rice), when I spotted Mr. Block’s latest—The Burglar on the Prowl.

If it’s half as entertaining as Telling Lies was, I know I’ll love it!