A skill I wish more people had and why

 This topic from Long and Short Reviews hit home, because there is one thing that has always annoyed me and probably always will. And I really do wish more people had this ability.

The ability to follow directions.

Specifically, people who ask for directions in the street and then don't follow them. 

I had a woman once ask me how to get to a building which was clearly visible across the street; I pointed it out and directed her to the crossing, and she walked six feet and asked someone else - who shrugged and told her he had no idea where it was. Well, I tried.

I also had quite a lot of people at a previous temp job who couldn't understand that they needed to turn right when coming out of a lift. Invariably they would turn left and then be surprised they were in the wrong place. I never did manage to figure that one out.

So what skill do you wish more people had?

Books that are tearjerkers

 Okay, so this one from Long and Short Reviews was a tough one. I'll be the first person to admit that I don't cry over books. I don't generally read the sort of books one might cry over - fair play to Nicholas Sparks, but give me a happy ending any day. So I was struggling to think of any book I might consider a tearjerker.

Then I remembered "The Time Traveller's Wife".

I admit I only read it because of all the press attention it got, so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it more than I thought I would. Of course, we all know - and I think the book and film have been out long enough for it not to be a spoiler - that Henry dies near the end, so that part was obviously going to be a downer, but I wasn't particularly expecting it to affect me.

However.

As the scene is presented, Henry tells Clare on New Year's Eve that he's about to make the final time-jump that will kill him. Henry has no control over when or where he will jump, so there is nothing either of them can do but sit and wait for it to happen. And I was immediately reminded of my father's last days in hospice, when my family and I were sitting watching his chest rise and fall and knowing that at any moment there would be no more breaths. There is something devastating about knowing that the person in front of you is about to die and there is literally nothing you can do but watch.

Which is probably why I never read the book or saw the film more than once.

So which books do you think of as tearjerkers?

ROMANCE GRAB BAG GIVEAWAY

 ROMANCE GRAB BAG GIVEAWAY

June 1st - 30th

Fill your eReader with a surprise!

https://ellenmint.blog/romance-mystery-bag-giveaway/ 

Is your eReader full of tumbleweeds? Do you need something to read but have no idea where to start? Let my mystery box pick for you!

Fifty-One authors teamed up to bring you THIRTY-NINE mystery bags of romance. Alpha heroes, untouchable bosses, sexy vampires, kilted pirates, and more wait to sweep you away. There will be numerous winners!

You get to pick between the three categories that interest you most: Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal

Enter whichever genre is your catnip, or go for all three if you love everything romance.

Do you want a sneak peek hint of which books are available in the bundle? Visit the giveaway page to check them out and enter.

The giveaway is sponsored by these wonderful authors:

Ellen Mint • Tember Sapphire • Cynthia Terelst • V.J. Allison • Jane Maguire • Amber Daulton • Seelie Kay • Jennifer Wilck • Courtney McCaskill • Charlie Lane • Kathleen Ayers • Tanith Davenport • S J Coles • Ella Cooper• Rosanna Leo • Maggie Sims • Sheri-Lynn Marean • Tina Gallagher • K.E. Turner • Will Forrest • M.C. Roth • Maren Jenner • Cass Scotka • Tracy Sumner • Robin Jeffrey • LS Phoenix • Catherine Peace • E. Rose Lynn • Collette Cameron • TJ Finn • Megan Slayer • Kristian Parker • Erin Zarro • Merry Farmer • Amy Craig • Celia Breslin • Aubrey Wynne • Zoe Dawson • Karenna Colcroft • Michelle McCraw • C. J. Burright