New Blog Layout... Tell Me What You Think!

Okay, so it has taken me literally all afternoon to do this new layout.  I felt like the other one was kind of blah!  I have no idea what I'm doing on the computer when it comes to designs, or photos, or stuff like that.  So even though this is not a professional job, I can't help but be proud for getting this far all by myself!

So please give me your thoughts and opinions on how you like this new design.  The more I look at it, the more it is growing on me.  But it's like your pet.  Or God forbid, your kid!  It's yours, so no matter how ugly it might be, you think it's the cat's ass.

The one thing I'm trying to do that I really cannot figure out, is to put post dividers in between posts.  I have a thingy that matches the rest of the design, but when I try to put it in it separates the post from the comments section, and then the next post is right under the previous post's comments.  Any ideas on how to get the placement right?

Comments?  Let me know how you like it!

Let's Talk About... Nancy Drew! Review: Not A Girl Detective by Susan Kandel

  Who likes Nancy Drew?  Well, wait... let's make it easier: who doesn't like Nancy Drew?  Face it - there are a bazillion of us who read about Nancy's adventures and wished we could be there in River Heights right along with her to solve all those mysteries!
  That's exactly how CeCe Caruso, the main character in Not A Girl Detective  feels.  CeCe is an author who specializes in writing biographies of mystery authors.  In this, the second novel featuring CeCe, she is working on a biography of the legendary Carolyn Keene, author of all the Nancy Drew novels.
  Now, if you're a fan of Nancy Drew, you know that Carolyn Keene is a pseudonym for the many authors who contributed to Nancy's adventures through the years.  So composing her biography isn't as easy as it sounds.  In the midst of her research, CeCe encounters a Nancy Drew Chums Convention, a dead body, a missing painting, and plenty of hijinx!

  The story line was engaging enough, I suppose, but what I loved most about this book was the amount of Nancy Drew trivia that was just packed into the pages!  A fictional tale woven with true facts about "Carolyn Keene" and all kinds of little tidbits that the Nancy Drew fanatic and collector will eat up!  For instance, did you know that the first Nancy Drew novel, The Secret of the Old Clock has been reprinted more than 150 times?
  It was things like that which kept me reading.  I was fascinated to learn about the Stratemeyer Syndicate and all of the writers who contributed to the "Carolyn Keene" name.

There are other books in this series with the same pretense - that CeCe is writing a biography about a mystery author; Perry Mason and Sam Spade are among them.  The one I would be most interested in reading would be Christietown.  If it has half the interesting factoids as Not A Girl Detective has, then I think it will be worth reading.

So, the bottom line:

My gut reaction:  enjoyable.  I found the facts about Nancy Drew more interesting than the actual story line, but I did like it.  It was humorous at times, and I did find myself laughing out loud.

My sleep-loss meter: 3 1/2 under-eye bags!  I found myself wanting to learn more about Nancy Drew than wanting to find out about the actual "mystery" in the story.  The characters are likeable and the story interesting enough, but it just didn't have that "gotcha" factor for me.  I didn't lose too much sleep reading into the night with this one.