My Round File

Wild Mountain Thyme by Rosamunde Pilcher

2012-02-11T14:09:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: Victoria Bradshaw fell in love with London playwright Oliver Dobbs when she was just eighteen. But he had left her and disappeared from her life. Now, years later, he was a widower standing on her doorstep wit his two-year-old son in his arms. And Victoria was foolish enough to want to take him back. Their early spring journey to a castle in Scotland would become an odyssey of emotional discovery.

This one was such a shocker in that I didn't really like it very much. Usually I just fall into Rosamunde Pilcher's Scottish world and swim around loving the accents and the landscapes and the small town charms. This one had some of that towards the end but it started out in London with not much ambiance and a despicable character. He's such a cad that you can't for a moment relate to why she cares for him so you (or at least I) have to plod through hoping it gets better. Should probably see where this falls on the timeline of Rosamunde Pilcher books - maybe it was an earlier one before she perfected her craft. Skip this and go reread the Shell Seekers!

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Getting Personal With God by Joyce Meyer

2012-01-29T17:26:00.002-05:00

From Amazon: Getting Personal with God Excerpts from Three Classic Messages: HOW TO HEAR FROM GOD, KNOWING GOD INTIMATELY, AND SEVEN THINGS THAT STEAL YOUR JOY

This one was really good - probably because it was excerpts from three different books so I was getting just the best parts and not all the filler! The three CD's flew by and I enjoyed each one. Joyce Meyer is the most practical evangelist there is - so down to earth, I love that about her. And while I often don't like it when authors read their own work, with Joyce it works. That flat Midwestern accent just adds flavor for me. It maybe because it is non-fiction and she's not trying to introduce characters or set a mood. It's just Joyce, talking to me, reminding me to pray, telling me to read my Bible, and gently chastising me for trying to handle my problem son my own while God waits patiently for me to ask Him to help.

The audiobook challenge is hosted by Teresa at Teresa's Reading Corner, click on the logo to see my progress.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Dewey by Vicki Myron

2012-01-28T13:38:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: DEWEY is the heartwarming story of Dewey Readmore Books, the beloved library cat of Spencer, Iowa, as told by his owner and companion of nineteen years, Vicki Myron, the librarian who found him on a frigid January morning when he was abandoned as a kitten in the book drop slot. It is also the story of a remarkable small town, which burned down at the beginning of the Depression, only to rebuild itself, and which was almost shuttered during the farm crisis of the 1980s, before regrouping and rededicating itself to small town American values. Dewey's local charm and worldwide fame became a symbol of hope for this recovering town. Through Dewey's antics, we come to know and love many of the colorful and inspiring people of Spencer. But perhaps the most inspiring person in Spencer is Vicki Myron herself, a single mother who survived the bankruptcy of her family farm and working in a box factory to put two of her brothers through college to become one of the leaders of the Iowa library system. Dewey is one lovable, roguish cat who managed to transform an entire town and inspire people across the globe.

Most everyone who reads book blogs has heard of Dewey and knows what a heartwarming story this is; I enjoyed every bit of this one from cover to cover. The rest of this is a spoiler so stop reading now if you haven't read it yet!

Is every book I pick up now going to be about cancer? The author has a bout with cancer, her mother dies of cancer, her brother dies of cancer and in the end even the cat dies of cancer. It just doesn't stop. I wonder if books have always been this cancer laden and I just didn't take note because cancer hadn't touched my life then like it has now. It's kind of like when I bought my red Volvo station wagon - I got it because I thought (for a station wagon) it was funky, different, off-beat - made me as cool as I could be in a station wagon. But as soon as I started driving it, I realized that there were plenty of other folks who also had red Volvo wagons - I just had never noticed them. Good book, plenty of tears, but a hopeful, joyful message throughout!

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

After the Leaves Fall by Nicole Baart

2012-01-27T13:49:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: Julia DeSmit can't wait for her life to begin. After her mother leaves when Julia is nine years old, she's raised by an unassuming, gentle father and a saintly, matriarchal grandmother until her father dies just as Julia is becoming a young adult.
On the cusp of womanhood, Julia feels jaded by her circumstances and longs for a new identity. College seems like the perfect place to start over. But when Julia makes a mistake that will change her life forever, she returns to her grandmother's farm, defeated and convinced of her own worthlessness. Only through the gentle prodding of her loving grandmother does Julia begin to accept the imprint her childhood has left on her life and look for hope in a loving God who longs to make all things new.

If I had read the description a little more carefully, I would have seen that this was Christian fiction. Despite being a Christian and liking fiction...Christian fiction just really isn't my thing. The first half of the book caught my attention, it was a basic coming of age story with hardship and unrequited love and all the teary angsty stuff I enjoy but with a dollop of faith discussion that was just right. But then the second half of the book, the preaching began taking first place and the story seemed neglected to second place and it all fell apart for me. It wasn't that it was bad, it's just not what I would choose. I have heard that this is the first book in a trilogy, I may grab the second if it come sup as a freebie on my Kindle list, I am curious how things are going to turn out. If there is a next time, I will be going in knowing what to expect and thus will be in the proper mind set to enjoy it for what it is rather than what I wish it could be.

The 2012 E-Book Reading Challenge is hosted by Sarah at Workaday Reads. Click on the logo to see my progress.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Click on the logo to see my progress towards the 2012 A to Z Reading Challenge hosted by Strawberry Splash Reviews.

The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

2012-01-26T16:07:00.004-05:00

From Goodreads: Four lives knit together ...There's a little shop on Blossom Street in Seattle called A Good Yarn. You go there to buy knitting supplies and patterns -- and now it's offering a knitting class. The first lesson: how to knit a baby blanket.
For owner Lydia Hoffman, the shop represents her dream of beginning a new life free from the cancer that has ravaged her twice. A life that offers a chance at love ... and maybe marriage.
Jacqueline Donovan is stuck in a marriage that has dwindled into an arrangement of separate rooms and separate lives. She disapproves of the woman married to her only son, but if she knits a baby blanket, she can at least pretend to like her pregnant daughter-in-law.
For Carol Girard, the baby blanket brings a message of hope as she and her husband make a final attempt at in vitro pregnancy.
And tense-looking Alix Townsend -- that's Alix with an "i" -- is learning to knit her blanket for her court-ordered community service project.
Brought together by an age-old craft, these four women make unexpected discoveries -- about themselves and each other. Discoveries that lead to love, to friendship and acceptance, to laughter and dreams.

I randomly bought an audiobook at a tag sale like I have done a hundred times but this was different because I accidentally stumbled onto the FIRST book of a series rather than something in the middle - hooray! I really enjoyed this one! It was fairly predictable (actually that should probably say VERY predictable - I think I knew how everyone's story would turn out within moments of beginning!) but for a listen in the car when I am only half paying attention, predictable is not a bad thing. I'm not going to go out and search for the next books in the series...it wasn't THAT good, but I will keep one eye open for them!

Here's the author's website.

This one counts for the following challenges..

The audiobook challenge is hosted by Teresa at Teresa's Reading Corner, click on the logo to see my progress.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Click on the logo to see my progress towards the 2012 A to Z Reading Challenge hosted by Strawberry Splash Reviews.

The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith

2012-01-22T07:46:00.002-05:00

From Goodreads: Under the endless skies of Botswana, there is always something Mma Ramotswe can do to help someone and here she finds herself assisting a woman looking for her family. The problem is the woman doesn't know her real name or whether any of her family members are still alive. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi is the recipient of a beautiful new bed that causes more than a few sleepless nights. And, at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni has come under the influence of a doctor promising a miracle cure for his daughter's medical condition, which Mma Ramotswe finds hard to accept. Nonetheless, Precious Ramotswe handles these things in her usual compassionate and good-natured way, while always finding time for a cup of red bush tea.

This was another good one - had a rainy night here and it was perfect to curl up on the couch and read this cozy mystery. I've exhausted what is on my shelf and now have to go in search of the remaining books. probably best to take a break anyway so this is good timing.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

The Finishing the Series Challenge is hosted by Yvonne on a dedicated blog here. Click on the logo to see my progress.

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard

2012-01-21T17:13:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: They were born on the same day, in the same small New Hampshire hospital, into families that could hardly have been less alike.
Ruth Plank is an artist and a romantic with a rich, passionate, imaginative life. The last of five girls born to a gentle, caring farmer and his stolid wife, she yearns to soar beyond the confines of the land that has been her family's birthright for generations.
Dana Dickerson is a scientist and realist whose faith is firmly planted in the natural world. Raised by a pair of capricious drifters who waste their lives on failed dreams, she longs for stability and rootedness.
Different in nearly every way, Ruth and Dana share a need to make sense of who they are and to find their places in a world in which neither has ever truly felt she belonged. They also share a love for Dana's wild and beautiful older brother, Ray, who will leave an indelible mark on both their hearts.

If the point was to surprise us with the twist then the foreshadowing is much too heavy handed. But if, on the other hand, the point is to "know" and just watch the families twist in the wind and try to manage their lives, then the book is quite successful because it is a fascinating journey. This one sat on my TBR pile for almost a year but once I started it yesterday, I couldn't put it down - such beautiful relationships throughout. Relationships between people but also between people and the land - kind of makes me want to chuck my life and go farm somewhere, except, of course, that I can't even keep houseplants alive!

Author's website if you want to see more.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Dashing Through The Snow by Carol Higgins Clark and Mary Higgins Clark

2012-01-19T20:18:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: In the picturesque village of Branscombe, New Hampshire, the townsfolk are all pitching in to prepare for the first (and many hope annual) Festival of Joy. The night before the festival begins, a group of employees at the local market learn that they have won $160 million in the lottery. One of their co-workers, Duncan, decided at the last minute, on the advice of a pair of crooks masquerading as financial advisers, not to play. Then he goes missing. A second winning lottery ticket was purchased in the next town, but the winner hasn't come forward. Could Duncan have secretly bought it?

This was a win from Teresa's Reading Corner, Teresa is also the hostess of the Audiobook Challenge. The Higgins-Clark mother-daughter team comes out with one of these books every Christmas, Christmas themed cozy mysteries. The characters were familiar faces from other Christmas books by this duo and the plot is nothing strenuous - it's just Christmas fun. But, this one was less fun than the others I have read mainly because it wasn't in print, it was on audio read by Carol Higgins Clark and her voice was a distraction. I've never been a huge fan of authors reading their own work and this is an example of why I don't like it. She has a Jersey girl accent that is fine when she is reading a character from that part of the country but when she is reading narration - descriptions and such - it is distracting to this Southern girl. She probably thinks her voice has is very plain but it just isn't! So I would have enjoyed this one more in print but it was still pleasant enough on audio.

This one counts for the following challenges..

The audiobook challenge is hosted by Teresa at Teresa's Reading Corner, click on the logo to see my progress.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Click on the logo to see my progress towards the 2012 A to Z Reading Challenge hosted by Strawberry Splash Reviews.

The Things We Do For Love by Kristin Hannah

2012-01-16T20:15:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: Years of trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child have broken more than Angie DeSaria’s heart. Following a painful divorce, she moves back to her small Pacific Northwest hometown and takes over management of her family’s restaurant. In West End, where life rises and falls like the tides, Angie’s fortunes will drastically change yet again when she meets and befriends a troubled young woman.
Angie hires Lauren Ribido because she sees something special in the seventeen-year-old. They quickly form a deep bond, and when Lauren is abandoned by her mother, Angie offers the girl a place to stay. But nothing could have prepared Angie for the far-reaching repercussions of this act of kindness. Together, these two women—one who longs for a child and the other who longs for a mother’s love—will be tested in ways that neither could have imagined.

I read Firefly Lane last year and enjoyed it very much, then I read Winter Garden just last week and was underwhelmed. This one puts Kristin Hannah back on my good list. Some of the reviews I read were vehement in their dislike but I was very moved by the story and the tears poured the final quarter of the book. Maybe I am old enough to have seen women go through the trials of infertility and how alcohol can destroy a family, all the combustible emotions that felt flat with some readers felt pretty real to me - I liked and cared about the characters and thought Hannah did a great job with this one.

This works for the following challenges -
I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Click on the logo to see my progress towards the 2012 A to Z Reading Challenge hosted by Strawberry Splash Reviews.

Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates

2012-01-16T19:51:00.020-05:00

From Goodreads: Teena Maguire should not have tried to shortcut her way home that Fourth of July. Not after midnight, not through Rocky Point Park. Not the way she was dressed: tank top, denim cut-offs, high-heeled sandals - like she was asking for it. Not with her twelve-year-old daughter Bethie. Not with packs of local guys running loose on hormones, rage, and alcohol. A victim of gang rape, left for dead in the park boathouse, the once vivacious, down-to-earth, sexy Teena Maguire can now only regret that she has survived. And Bethie can barely remember a childhood uncolored by fear. For they're not even a neighborhood away, out on bail, the men that she identified for the Niagara Falls Police Department, the wide-browed, sandy-haired Pick brothers; the sneering Jimmy DeLucca; Fritz Haaber with his moustache and stubbled jaw. They've got a hotshot lawyer who's got their charges reduced to simple assault. Bethie is scared; they've killed her grandmother's longhaired orange cat. This gripping new novella from Joyce Carol Oates unfolds the story of Teena and Bethie, of their insolent, cocksure assailants and their silent champion - one man who knows the meaning of justice. And love.

My track record with Joyce Carol Oates is spotty, enjoyed We Were the Mulvaneys, didn't like The Gravedigger's Daughter. This one goes in the "WIN" column; I liked it a lot. It's strange to say "liked" about a book that is so disturbing - the gang rape destroys this family and the desire for justice leads to incidents that would be disturbing on their own but in this context are unsettling yet satisfying. My complaint about this would be that she wrote it as a novella so it was short at only 154 pages. It should have been a longer book with more time to get to know the characters better.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Rumour Has It by Jill Mansell

2012-01-16T09:42:00.001-05:00

From Goodreads: Newly single Tilly Cole impulsively moves to a small town, only to find she's arrived in a hotbed of gossip, intrigue, and rampant rivalry for the most desirable man-Jack Lucas, whose reputation is beyond bad. Tilly has no intention of becoming another notch on his bedpost. But she finds the thoughtful, caring guy she comes to value as a friend doesn't seem to fit the town's playboy image. Should she listen to her friends or her heart? Is Tilly being mature and sensible-or running away from the love of her life?

This one ended up being very fun - I think I have said that about most of the Jill Mansell books I have read. It was another bargain on Kindle so I snapped it up. I liked all the chacters in this story and I thought the twists and turns of the romantic comedy plot weren't quite as far fetched as they are in some other chick lit books. It wasn't just the single plot line of the romance driving things along, there were a few sub-plots and each held my interest on it's own.

My memory for what I read overall is poor, but on the Kindle, it's even worse. So this light, easy to read type book is just the kind of thing that is perfect for that electronic medium.

This works for these challenges:
The 2012 E-Book Reading Challenge is hosted by Sarah at Workaday Reads. Click on the logo to see my progress.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith

2012-01-14T15:42:00.023-05:00

From Goodreads: There is rarely a dull moment in the life of Precious Ramotswe, and on Zebra Drive and Tlokweng Road many changes are afoot. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni wants be put in charge of a case involving an errant husband, and Mma Makutsi is considering leaving the agency, taking her near perfect score on the Botswana Secretarial College typing exam with her. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe has been asked to investigate a series of unexpected deaths at the hospital in Mochudi. Along the way, she encounters other tricky mysteries, and once again displays her undying love for Botswana, a country of which she is justly proud.

Finishing this series is going smooth and quick thus far. This one was good, just like the last few. To keep my enjoyment level high, I figure I will need to take a break before they get stale. Maybe just one more before I go on a self-imposed Ladies Detective Agency sabbatical!

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Click on the logo to see my progress towards the 2012 A to Z Reading Challenge hosted by Strawberry Splash Reviews.

The Finishing the Series Challenge is hosted by Yvonne on a dedicated blog here. Click on the logo to see my progress.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

2012-01-10T20:05:00.001-05:00

From Goodreads: Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard: the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time - and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

I have mixed feelings about this one. It was one of those that has two story lines running - one in the present and another historical. The first half of the book, the contemporary characters were completely unlikeable. As the book progresses and more is revealed, you start to understand them but I never got past my initial distaste in order to appreciate them. The other storyline, the historical one is initially told as a fairy tale; that was inventive, I have never seen that before. I enjoyed this part of the book quite a bit. Set in Russia during the first World War, this story was compelling and heart breaking, I cried for those characters.

This works for the following challenges -
I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Click on the logo to see my progress towards the 2012 A to Z Reading Challenge hosted by Strawberry Splash Reviews.

Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith

2012-01-07T20:25:00.002-05:00

From Goodreads:
Life is good for Mma Ramotswe as she sets out with her usual resolve to solve people’s problems, heal their misfortunes, and untangle the mysteries that make life interesting. And life is never dull on Tlokweng Road. A new and rather too brusque advice columnist is appearing in the local paper. Then, a cobra is found in the offices of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Recently, the Mokolodi Game Preserve manager feels an infectious fear spreading among his workers, and a local doctor may be falsifying blood pressure readings. To further complicate matters, Grace Makutsi may have scared off her own fiancé. Mma Ramotswe, however, is always up to the challenge.

Not much to say about this one, another in the series, I am enjoying them again after a bit of a lull. This one follows the same formula with no new characters.

This counts for the following challenges:
I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

The Finishing the Series Challenge is hosted by Yvonne on a dedicated blog here. Click on the logo to see my progress.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

2012-01-05T22:07:00.004-05:00

From Goodreads: In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county—and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town. More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.

I spied this one on the blogs last summer (Bermudaonion's review here) and it sounded great so, when it went on sale on Kindle not long ago, I snatched it right up. I was not dissapointed. I loved how the characters of Silas and Larry evolved during the story - it's coming of age, it's racial tension, it's alcohol and drugs and murder but from that darkness comes light and I was really sad to see the book come to an end. Loved it.

This works for these challenges:
The 2012 E-Book Reading Challenge is hosted by Sarah at Workaday Reads. Click on the logo to see my progress.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith

2012-01-03T23:09:00.001-05:00

From Goodreads: Precious is busier than usual at the detective agency when she discovers an intruder in her house on Zebra Drive—and perhaps even more baffling--a pumpkin on her porch. Her associate, Mma Makutsi, also has a full plate. She's taken up dance lessons, only to be partnered with a man with two left feet. And at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, where Mr J.L.B. Matekoni is already overburdened with work, one of his apprentices has run off with a wealthy older woman. But what finally rattles Mma Ramotswe’s normally unshakable composure is a visitor who forces her to confront a difficult secret from her past.

I liked this one better than the last one I read, not exactly sure why. Perhaps, the return of Precious's ex-husband - an actual element of danger to her beautiful life - gave it more of a sense of urgency than the last one. I also liked the newest character introduced to the shop and agency. My favorite line is when they describe heavier women as women of "traditional build" - such a kind description, I am semi-traditional!

I feel inspired to tackle the rest of the series so I am signing on to the "Finishing the Series" challenge hosted by Yvonne at Socrates Book Reviews on a dedicated blog, sign up here. I'll sign up at Level 2 reading the rest of the Ladies Detective Agency series and also the rest of the Wimpy Kid series.

I am trying to reach 100 books this year - I've never done it before although I have come very close, click on the logo to see how I am doing for this year!

Finish the Series Challenge 2012

2012-01-02T21:42:00.002-05:00

I am signing on to the "Finishing the Series" challenge hosted by Yvonne at Socrates Book Reviews on a dedicated blog, sign up here. I'll sign up at Level 2 reading the rest of the Ladies Detective Agency series and also the rest of the Wimpy Kid series.
Ladie's Detective Agency
1. The #1 Ladies Detective Agency
2. Tears of the Giraffe
3. Morality for Beautiful Girls
4. The Kahlahari Typing School for Men
5. The Full Cupboard of Life
6. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
7. Blue Shoes and Happiness
8. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
9. The Miracle at Speedy Motors
10. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
11. The Double Comfort Safari Club
12. The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
13. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection

A-Z Reading Challenge

2012-01-02T21:25:00.012-05:00

I'm in but the challenge I have done for the last two years appears to be gone! So I checked out A Novel Challenge and found this one over at Strawberry Splash Reviews. She sounds very excited to host the challenge so maybe I can try to be a little more particpatory than I have in years past, maybe.

Here's where I will keep track of my books...game on!
(Italics is "I' have this in my TBR pile, maybe this will work", a link is "I actually read this!")
A- After the Leaves Fall
B- Blue Shoes and Happiness
C- Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
D- Dashing Through the Snow
E-
F-
G- The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
H- Heavenly
I- In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
J-
K-
L-
M- Madame Tussaud
N-
O-
P-
Q-
R- Rumour Has It
S- The Shop on Blossom Street
T- The Things We Do For Love
U-
V-
W- Winter Garden
X-
Y-
Z- A Girl Named Zippy

Audiobook Challenge

2012-01-02T20:11:00.004-05:00

This is a challenge I have completed the past few years. That feat remains largely undocumented since I am really bad at the whole "linking up your posts" thing. But I am good at the actual listening to the book part so I am signing up for the Lover level - 25 audio books!

Hosted by Teresa of Teresa's Reading Corner, there are four levels to the challenge:
■Flirting-Listen to 6 Audio Books
■Going Steady- Listen to 12 Audio Books
■Lover- Listen to 25 Audio Books
■Married-Listen to +++ Audio Books

Does it interest you? Click on the logo above to go to the sign up post.

Here's how I am doing...
1. Dashing Through the Snow
2. Getting Personal With God
3. The Shop on Blossom Street
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

E-Book Reading Challenge

2012-01-02T17:41:00.003-05:00

Hosted by Sarah over at Workaday Reads, this challenge has the following levels:
1.Floppy disk - 5 ebooks
2.CD - 10 ebooks
3.DVD - 25 ebooks
4.Memory stick - 50 ebooks
5.Hard drive - 75 ebooks
6.Server - 100 ebooks
7.Human brain - 150 ebooks

I'm signing up at the DVD level - 25 books. I haven't gone back and counted from last year but I feel like about a quarter of my reading is now done electronically so that should be close to 25.

Interested? Click on the button to see the sign-up post.

Here's what I've done so far...
1. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
2. Rumour Has It
3. After the Leaves Fall
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

What's In a Name Challenge

2012-01-02T09:19:00.001-05:00

I always think this one looks fun. I never actually sign up and do it but I always think it looks fun! I checked last year (2010, last last year) and almost made it, but didn't. Checked again for last year (2011)..almost made it, but didn't - this is 2011:
1. A book with a number in the title: 1984
2. A book with jewelry or a gem in the title: fail
3. A book with a size in the title: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress 4. A book with travel or movement in the title: The Art of Racing in the Rain5. A book with evil in the title: Hell’s Corner 6. A book with a life stage in the title: Diary of A Wimpy Kid

This years challenge has categories for topographical feature (land formation), sky, creepy crawly, house, pocket, purse, or backpack, and something on a calendar. If it catches your fancy, click on the logo and you can go sign up over at Beth Fish Reads.

Just for fun, I'll try to keep track...
1. Topographical feature
2. Sky
3. Creepy, crawly
4. House
5. Pocket, purse, or backpack
6. Something on a calendar - Winter Garden

Books Read 2012

2012-01-01T11:09:00.015-05:00

1. In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
2. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
3. Blue Shoes and Happiness
4. Winter Garden
5. Rumour Has It
6. Dashing Through the Snow
7. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
8. Rape: A Love Story
9. The Things We Do For Love
10. The Good Daughters
11. The Miracle at Speedy Motors
12. The Shop on Blossom Street
13. After the Leaves Fall
14. Dewey
15. Getting Personal With God
16. Heavenly
17. Madame Tussaud
18. Wild Mountain Thyme

Books Read 2011 - final count

2011-12-31T20:52:00.002-05:00

The goal was to outdo yourself by reading more books in 2011 than you did in 2010. FAIL - 2010 I read 99 but this year I only got to 91.

The goal was to read 100 or more books. Again - FAIL!

Oh well, better luck next year!

Here's my final list:

1. Anne of Green Gables

2. The Hour I First Believed

3. Katie Up and Down the Hall

4. By Fire, By Water

5. War

6. Bulls Island

7. Anne of Avonlea

8. I Dare You

9. The Faith Club

10. Don't Blink

11. My Reading Life

12. Remarkable Creatures

13. Thanks for the Memories

14. Marley and Me

15. The Devotion of Suspect X

16. False Impression

17. Change of Heart

18. Veil of Roses

19. Dreaming in English

20. Rescue

21. Safe Haven

22. Hitched

23. Milkweed

24. The Red Tent

25. The Year She Fell

26. Jane Eyre

27. Girls' Night In

28. Miss Hildreth Wore Brown

29. Hell's Corner

30. Death Dance

31. All The Time In The World

32. Stuck in the Middle

33. Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled

34. In the Name of Honor

35. Eclipse Bay

36. Miranda's Big Mistake

37. Forever Friends

38. I'm Black and I'm Proud Wished the White Girl

39. The Lace Reader

40. The Return Journey

41. Can You Keep A Secret?

42. Picture Perfect

43. Butterfly's Daughter

44. What Good is God?

45. Mrs. Pollifax on Safari46. America's Women

47. Southern Comfort

48. Hector and the Secrets of Love

49. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

50. Shopaholic Ties the Knot

51. Listen for the Whisperer

52. The Art of Racing in the Rain

53. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

54. Phantom Prey

55. Never Change

56. 1984

57. Room

58. Spoken From the Heart

59. 40 Love

60. Gone

61. My Horizontal Life

62. Strangers in Death

63. Last Man Standing

64. Queen of Broken Hearts

65. Your Heart Belongs to Me

66. Divergent

67. Between, Georgia

68. The Puppy Diaries

69. Knit the Season

70. Two Little Girls in Blue

71. Wishin' and Hopin'

72. The Last Juror

73. One True Thing

74. The Glass case

75. Chasing Amanda

76. The Mill River Recluse

77. Of Mice and Murders (Z series)

78. Perfect Timing

79. The Woods

80. Hardly Knew Her

81. The Last Odd Day

82. The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook

83. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio

84. The Women

85. BossyPants

86. America's Women

87. Down Came the Rain

88. Diary of A Wimpy Kid

89. Notes From the Underwire

90. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

91. Walking in Circles Before Lying Down

The Puppy Diaries by Jill Abramson

2011-12-31T13:09:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: One sparkling summer day, Jill Abramson brought home a nine-week-old golden retriever named Scout. Over the following year, as she and her husband raised their adorable new puppy, Abramson wrote a hugely popular column for The New York Times's website about the joys and challenges of training this rambunctious addition to their family. Dog-lovers from across the country inundated her with e-mails and letters, and the photos they sent in of their own dogs became the most visited photo album on the Times's site in 2009. Now Abramson has gone far beyond the material in her column and written a detailed and deeply personal account of Scout's first year. Part memoir, part manual, part investigative report, The Puppy Diaries continues Abramson's intrepid reporting on all things canine.

I really wanted to like this one. It was an ARC through the Library Thing Early Reviewer program that I had requested becsue it sounded sweet and Scout's puppy picture on the cover is too cute for words. But it just didn't capture me. The way that Jill told the tale just didn't give me the warm fuzzies, it was too accurate/clinical feeling. It may have been better in small doses as she reported in her column rather than all at once in book format. The ARC packet included tow pages of photos and they were as "awww"inspiring as I had hoped the book would be - Scout is one cute dog!

I read this book for the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.

It also counts for some of my other challenges....

Diary of A Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

2011-12-30T08:55:00.016-05:00

From Goodreads: Greg records his sixth grade experiences in a middle school where he and his best friend, Rowley, undersized weaklings amid boys who need to shave twice daily, hope just to survive, but when Rowley grows more popular, Greg must take drastic measures to save their friendship.

Youngest has read this series from start to finish, in fact, Santa gave him the newest book in his stocking this year. So Santa decided, after having invested about $60 in this series over the years, to read one. It was alright. I am definitely NOT the target audience, so I won't get too unhappy that I didn't love it. I do love that my child has read and reread them all. I was just expecting them to be a little bit funnier, but they just weren't written with me in mind!

This works for these challenges..

Down Came the Rain by Brooke Shields

2011-12-29T20:53:00.009-05:00

From Goodreads: When Brooke Shields welcomed her newborn daughter to the world, her joyful expectations were quickly followed by something unexpected crippling depression. In what is sure to strike a chord with the millions of women who suffer from depression after childbirth, Brooke Shields shares how she, too, battled a condition that is widely misunderstood, despite the fact that it affects many new mothers. She discusses the illness in the context of her life, including her struggle to get pregnant, the high expectations she had for herself and that others placed on her as a new mom, and the role of her husband, friends, and family as she struggled to attain her maternal footing in the midst of a disabling depression. Ultimately, Brooke shares how she found a way out through talk therapy, medication, and time.

I listened to this on audio. I would NEVER EVER EVER have made it through in print. It felt like I was at a long lunch with a friend who monopolized the conversation talking about their pregnancy and birth and new baby. And just like those friends in real life, there were some interesting bits, there were moments where I cared about what might happen but overall, my mind was elsewhere a lot of the time. I only stuck it out because it was Brooke Shields and we have grown up together. Brooke and I are less than a year apart in age, Blue Lagoon came out when I was in high school, Suddenly Susan when I was an adult. Our life experiences may have been a little different (ha!) but we share a timeline and that makes me have a soft spot for her and thus, be willing to listen to three CD's of "Post-partum depression, me? How is that possible? My life is perfect." and then a few more CD's of "I love my meds, my life is perfect again, let me tell you all about it". So, in the end, the message is important and I am glad Brooke is willing to talk about it....but it could have been much shorter.

Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson

2011-12-20T20:12:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: Nonny Frett understands the meaning of the phrase "inbetween a rock and a hard place" better than any woman alive. She's got two mothers, "one deaf-blind and the other four baby steps from flat crazy." She's got two men: a husband who's easing out the back door; and a best friend, who's laying siege to her heart in her front yard. And she has two families: the Fretts, who stole her and raised her right; and the Crabtrees, who won't forget how they were done wrong. Now, in Between, Georgia, a feud that began the night Nonny was born is escalating and threatening to expose family secrets. Ironically, it might be just what the town needs...if only Nonny weren't stuck in between.

Bummer, this one just wasn't that good. I loved Backseat Saints and gods in Alabama so I was really eager to read this one. Then I acquired it in a magical way so it seemed like I was just meant to have it and surely it would be wonderful. (that story...after scouring the library book sale tables thinking I had seen every book there was to offer more than once, a friend wandered by and gave me the name of a book she was loooking for. I said I'd look and told her I was looking for Between, Georgia if she happpened to see it. Well, she reached down and plucked it out of the pile right underneath my nose, I had overlooked it again and again but she spotted it.) So those two things combined to give me some seriously high expectations and this just didn't meet them. I liked the quirky characters in Jackson's other books but this book was ALL quirky characters - there wasn't a normal one in the bunch and it was just too over the top. And, it didn't grab me like her other books. The other books once I started, I just couldn't put them down. This one I put aside several times in favor of other books.

But...2 out of 3 of her books being on my "amazing" list means Joshilyn Jackson remians on my "must read" list! I am on the hunt for her other book, The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, and will look forward to her newest one coming out next month, A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty.

This works for these challenges..

Divergent by Veronica Roth

2011-12-18T13:16:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

This one was very good. I would probably say great except that I read the Hunger Games first. I just loved that series and thus can't help but think of this one as a bridesmaid but still very good. Roth created an interesting and detailed world in dystopian Chicago and the factions were well defined and easy to sort out as I read. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Insurgent, when it comes out next year.

The cover...

This works for these challenges..

Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb

2011-12-16T20:44:00.010-05:00

From Goodreads: It's 1964 and ten-year-old Felix is sure of a few things: the birds and the bees are puzzling, television is magical, and this is one Christmas he'll never forget.
LBJ and Lady Bird are in the White House, Meet the Beatles is on everyone's turntable, and Felix Funicello (distant cousin of the iconic Annette!) is doing his best to navigate fifth grade—easier said than done when scary movies still give you nightmares and you bear a striking resemblance to a certain adorable cartoon boy.
Back in his beloved fictional town of Three Rivers, Connecticut, with a new cast of endearing characters, Wally Lamb takes his readers straight into the halls of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parochial School—where Mother Filomina's word is law and goody-two-shoes Rosalie Twerski is sure to be minding everyone's business. But grammar and arithmetic move to the back burner this holiday season with the sudden arrivals of substitute teacher Madame Frechette, straight from QuÉbec, and feisty Russian student Zhenya Kabakova. While Felix learns the meaning of French kissing, cultural misunderstanding, and tableaux vivants, Wishin' and Hopin' barrels toward one outrageous Christmas.
From the Funicello family's bus-station lunch counter to the elementary school playground (with an uproarious stop at the Pillsbury Bake-Off), Wishin' and Hopin' is a vivid slice of 1960s life, a wise and witty holiday tale that celebrates where we've been—and how far we've come.

This one was really fun! I can't remember how the author described the main character, Felix's appearance but I pictured him as the kid from A Christmas Story. The book just had that same vibe of 1960's America and, of course, it's Christmas. You read the description above and you get a feel already for how it is - just a romp with a few touching moments scattered throughout. I'll reread this one come Christmas time next year!

The Last Juror by John Grisham

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: In 1970, one of Mississippi's more colorful weekly newspapers, The Ford County Times, went bankrupt. To the surprise and dismay of many, ownership was assumed by a 23 year-old college dropout, named Willie Traynor. The future of the paper looked grim until a young mother was brutally raped and murdered by a member of the notorious Padgitt family. Willie Traynor reported all the gruesome details, and his newspaper began to prosper.
The murderer, Danny Padgitt, was tried before a packed courthouse in Clanton, Mississippi. The trial came to a startling and dramatic end when the defendant threatened revenge against the jurors if they convicted him. Nevertheless, they found him guilty, and he was sentenced to life in prison.
But in Mississippi in 1970, "life" didn't necessarily mean "life," and nine years later Danny Padgitt managed to get himself paroled. He returned to Ford County, and the retribution began.

I am on a roll - two good books in a row. I really enjoyed this one. Grisham captured the feel of a corrupt Southern town - small town law thinking they are big stuff, arrogant white men abusing blacks, and the insulated quality that means no matter how long you live there, you are never from there unless you were born there. The narrator had a great Southern accent and just made the audio book work for me. I had not too long ago seen The Lincoln Lawyer so I just couldn't help but picture Matthew McConaughey as the lawyer in this book. And since the lawyer narrates the book he was there for every minute. And since I have a huge crush on dear Matthew that was just. fine. with . me!

These all count for these challenges:

Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higggins Clark

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: Mary Higgins Clark weaves the mystery of twin telepathy into a mother's search for a kidnapped child, presumed dead. Margaret and Steve Frawley celebrate the third birthday of their twin girls, Kelly and Kathy, with an afternoon party in their new home, a modest fixer-upper in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The evening of the twins' birthday party, Steve and Margaret attend a black-tie dinner in New York. When they return home, the police are in the house, and they are told that the babysitter had been found unconscious, the children are gone, and a note demanding an eight-million-dollar ransom had been left in their room.

I picked this one for my T book to wrap up the A-Z Reading Challenge because I knew it would be fast and easy and I hoped it would be good. After disappointment with my last two MHC (here) and (here), I was so glad that this one was entertaining, I was actually a little bit scared at one point! There were characters that you knew were in on the kidnapping from the beginning and you got to see how evil they were and ooh and ahh about just how bad they could get. But then there was the mystery character the "Pied Piper" and it wasn't until the end that this character was revealed and it was actually a question for me until the very end. Satisfaction.

This book counts for these challenges:

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

2011-12-13T01:27:00.003-05:00

From Goodreads: Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She’s made a mistake so huge, it’ll wreck any chance of a partnership. Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she’s mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they’ve hired a lawyer–and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can’t sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope–and finds love–is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake. But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does…will she want it back?

Seven years ago a friend gave me this book and I read it in about an hour in the airport trying to finish it before my plane boarded so I could leave it and not have the weight in my carry on. I thought it was cute and so later picked up, Can You Keep A Secret by the same author which became and still is one of my favorite Chick Lit books. Flash forward to today and I need a "U" book for the A-Z Reading Challenge and decided to read this one again with a little more attention and see if I still liked it. It was okay - as the very first British Chick Lit book I read, it was unique and fresh and funny but now that I have read dozens in this genre, it's not as impressive.

One True Thing by Anna Quindlen

2011-12-12T01:14:00.003-05:00

From Amazon: After caring for her mother during her final, painful battle with terminal cancer, Ellen Gulden discovers many surprising things about her mother's life and finds herself accused of murdering her mother in a mercy killing.

I usually love Anna Quindlen but this one was a little bit slow for me. And, it turns out, I must have read it before because there was one part I remembered quite clearly (the "Minnies" decorating Christmas trees on the town square) and I had a feeling about the ending being a twist but couldn't remember what the twist was. So, Black and Blue remains my favorite of hers so far and I am looking forward to finding a copy of her newer book, Every Last One.

This book counts for these challenges:

And then there was T

2011-12-11T10:13:00.000-05:00

I am down to the last book in the A-Z Reading Challenge and it's T. I looked over my TBR pile and came up with these possibilities so my job today is to pick one and get started.

Religion Flowchart

2011-12-10T21:02:00.000-05:00

My old priest posted this on Facebook and it made me smile. I think it offends all except for maintstream Christians that somehow get a free pass. That's a tremendous error on the creator's part because there is ample material to get those guys too. Catholicism with the statues, the incense, the scapulars, and Mary everywhere has enough material for a flow chart of it's own.

Audio book round up

2011-12-04T08:39:00.001-05:00

I've listened to several audio books without taking the time to post. This time of year is always hectic for me and 2011 has been particularly busy. Some of it in a good way - the tour of homes fundraiser for which I chair ticket sales was a great success but that meant fielding even more requests for me so it sucked my entire November into a hurricane of charge slips and check deposits. The bad way was Youngest getting hurt in basketball requiring two weeks on crutches and a flurry of appointments for x-rays and orthopedics and physical therapy all with a miserable little boy whose armpits hurt and his goood leg hurt and everything hurt because crutches are not nearly as easy as they look! So here's a quick summary of my listens for posterity's sake!

Queen of Broken Hearts by Cassandra King I feel like the wicked witch when I say this but she just doesn't do it for me. I enjoyed bits and pieces of this one but not enough to say I liked it. My biggest regret with this one was that I didn't think to save it for my 2012 Q book!

Strangers in Death by JD Robb I've listened to one other in this series and didn't really care for it but this one sucked me in. I liked all the characters, even the bad ones, and even though we know "whodunit", I enjoyed Eve's unraveling of the crime.

Gone by Johnathan Kellerman Good but not great detective story.

Last Man Standing by David Baldacci Solid Baldacci, his are consistently good listens for me except when he veers off into the romantic (Christmas Train).

Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz I was expecting better. I thought Dean Koontz would be really scary, this wasn't. And I thought it would suck me right in and it didn't. Took two dics before it got interesting, I perservered only because it was audio, a print version would have been set aside.

These all count for these challenges:

Quinn by Iris Johansen

2011-10-25T06:59:00.009-04:00

From Goodreads: As a former Navy SEAL turned cop, Joe Quinn has seen the face of evil and knows just how deadly it can be. When he first met Eve Duncan, he never expected to fall in love with a woman whose life would be defined by her dual desires to bring home her missing daughter and discover the truth behind her disappearance---no matter how devastating. With the help of CIA agent Catherine Ling, they make a shocking discovery that sheds new light on young Bonnie’s abduction and puts Quinn squarely in the crosshairs of danger. Eve’s first love, John Gallo, a soldier supposedly killed in the line of duty, is very much alive---and very much a threat.

Finally a "Q" book for the A-Z Reading Challenge. In my enthusiasm to plunge into this Q book and cross that letter off my list, I neglected to notice something important. This is the second book in a trilogy. A trilogy that is itself based on another series. Sigh. So I was not up to speed going in and then....she doesn't resolve ANYTHING during this book. The portion of the ride that I was on was entertaining but, by my own fault, I am left completely unsatisfied. (Except, of course, for the satisfaction in crossing Q off the list.)

My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler

2011-10-22T19:23:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads:Gorgeous, sharp, and anything but shy, Chelsea loves men and lots of them. My Horizontal Life chronicles her romp through the different bedrooms of a variety of suitors, a no-holds-barred account of what can happen between a man and a sometimes very intoxicated, outgoing woman during one night of passion. From her short fling with a Vegas stripper to her even shorter dalliance with a well-endowed little person, from her uncomfortable tryst with a cruise ship performer to her misguided rebound with a man who likes to play leather dress-up, Chelsea recalls the highs and lows of her one-night stands with hilarious honesty. Encouraged by her motley collection of friends (aka: her partners in crime) but challenged by her family members (who at times find themselves a surprise part of the encounter), Chelsea hits bottom and bounces back, unafraid to share the gritty details. My Horizontal Life is one guilty pleasure you won't be ashamed to talk about in the morning.
Well, I actually am a little bit embarrassed to talk about this one in the morning - Chelsea Handler is one trashy girl. I knew that from Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea but there it was on the Kindle bestseller list for a mere $1.99 and I thought, "Why not? I've spent two dollars on stupider things than this." And, you know what, it was worth that $1.99, it was funny. I have either gotten used to her raunchiness and was less shocked by it or she toned it down a little bit in this book. While the last one was 75% Ewww and 25% Funny - this seemed to be the reverse or at least 50/50. This book has the honor of being the first book that I read entirely on my iPhone. It was an accidental beginning, I had some time to kill and thought I'd peek at a few pages. But then I kept going back to it again and again and, voila, it was done. A collection of essays is perfect on the iPhone because there is a clear start and stop and you don't have to try to remember anything from one read to the next.

This counts toward the e-book challenge. Click on the logo to see my progress.

Hardly Knew Her by Laura Lippman

2011-09-28T10:57:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads: Lippman sets many of the stories in this anthology, Hardly Knew Her, in familiar territory: her beloved Baltimore, from downtown to its affluent suburbs, where successful businessmen go to shocking lengths to protect what they have or ruthlessly expand their holdings, while dissatisfied wives find murderous ways to escape their lives. But Lippman is also unafraid to travel - to New Orleans, to an unnamed southwestern city, and even to Dublin, the backdrop for the lethal clash of two not-so-innocents abroad. Tess Monaghan is here, in two stories and a profile, aligning herself with various underdogs. And in her extraordinary, never-before published novella, Scratch a Woman, Lippman takes us deep into the private world of a high-priced call girl/madam and devoted soccer mom, exploring the mystery of what may, in fact, be written in the blood.

Wow, this one was great! The title, Hardly Knew Her, is apt as each short story takes the lead character places I couldn't imagine when they are first introduced. Not literal places, of course, but the dark places - deceit, murder, adultery. The Pollyanna in me has always believed that ordinary people are really capable of extraordinary things given the opportunity to shine. But this book takes it to the flip side of that coin, are we also, we "ordinary people", capable of horrific evil if that opportunity presents? Fun, quick read. This was the first Laura Lippman I have read. Not sure if I am ready to commit to a new series - I think her Tess Monaghan character has a series of books but I'll look and see what else she's got.

This works for these challenges..

What's On Your Nightstand? September 2011

2011-09-27T00:13:00.000-04:00

This monthly feature is hosted by 5 Minutes for Books on the last Tuesday of every month. Click on the logo to go and check out all the participants.

This weekend was the library Fall book sale so this pile is my result! I didn't just shop willy-nilly - these are books that I have had on my mental wish list, or that complete a series, or are by my "must have" authors so I am very excited about working my way through this stack! From the bottom up...

Back When We Were Grown Ups by Anne Tyler Anne Tyler is a favorite, I try to read all of her books.

Shopaholic & Sister by Sophie Kinsella The shopaholic series is the Chinese food of books, you read until you're stuffed and then ten minutes later you have to read again. So it turns out when I read the description more carefully, that I have read this one already - just forgot. Oh well.

The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith This is another series I abandoned and now want to return to and wrap up. These read so quickly and are very sweet - will enjoy this one.

Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson Probably my most exciting purchase. I loved Backseat Saints and Gods in Alabama, I am an official Joshilyn Jackson fan girl.

Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs More Running with Scissors type stories, I assume, we'll see.

The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark Another author that I just read every book no matter what. I don't buy them at full price but I do read them...eventually.

The Day of the Storm by Rosamunde Pilcher yes, she wrote the Shell Seekers.. that seems to be all anyone ever remembers of dear Rosamunde. But I am loyal - I read them all, eventually.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens and I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass Saw these two when they were making the rounds on book blogs and have had them on my mental wish list ever since.

Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah I think I was kind of late to the Kristin Hannah lovefest but have since read a few and enjoyed them very much - looking forward to this one too.

Innocent Traitor by Allison Weir At one point the Facebook Historical Fiction book club chose an Allison Weir and I liked that one so am hoping this one will be as good.

The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde Title caught my attention awhile ago and it sounds interesting.

Mailbox Monday

2011-09-26T05:00:00.013-04:00

Mailbox Monday

2011-09-12T05:00:00.024-04:00

Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham

2011-09-09T05:00:00.004-04:00

From Goodreads: Roxanne: glamorous, self-confident, with a secret lover -- a married man
Maggie: capable and high-achieving, until she finds the one thing she can't cope with -- motherhood
Candice: honest, decent, or so she believes -- until a ghost from her past turns up
At the first of every month, when the office has reached its pinnacle of hysteria, Maggie, Roxanne, and Candice meet at London's swankiest bar for an evening of cocktails and gossip. Here, they chat about what's new at The Londoner, the glossy fashion magazine where they all work, and everything else that's going on in their lives. Or almost everything. Beneath the girl talk and the laughter, each of the three has a secret. And when a chance encounter at the cocktail bar sets in motion an extraordinary chain of events, each one will find their biggest secret revealed.

I just read 40 Love another Madeleine Wickham book and remembered that I had never gotten around to posting this one last year. I had to give it a super quick reread which tells us something right off the bat - it doesn't stick with you! But it was a cute book and I enjoyed just as much the second time around - which is about three stars worth! It has a Sex in the City feel for me with the girls meeting at a favorite bar and hashing out all their troubles over cocktails. They each have their own unique problem so the book alternates between the three story lines. It was quick moving and interesting - a fun "read in an afternoon" book. I preferred this book over the other.

40 Love by Madeleine Wickham

2011-09-09T04:49:00.006-04:00

From Goodreads: Everyone wins this game of literary tennis, a comedy of manners about envy in which Wickham skewers the nouveau riche. At their country estate, Patrick Chance and his wife host a weekend tennis party. As four couples gather on the sunny terrace, it seems obvious who among them is succeeding, and who is falling behind. But by the end of the party, nothing will be quite as certain. While the couples’ children amuse themselves with pony rides and rehearsals for a play, the adults suffer a series of personal revelations and crises. Wickham’s nonstop action reveals at every turn that matters may not be as they seem, and in the end one thing is crystal clear: the weekend is about anything but tennis.

This was a win from the Library Thing Early Reviewer Program. I love Sophie Kinsella (who uses her alternate name Madeleine Wickham to pen this one) so I was expecting to enjoy it. I liked it a little bit but not very much. With Brit chick lit I expect a plucky female lead who is pursuing career and/or romance, some laugh out loud funny scenes, and a happy ending. This didn't have any of that. The four couples come for a tennis weekend and their lives just unravel. Relationships sour, finances plummett, and friendships are tested. I felt bad for them and at the same time somewhat confused keeping up with who's who among the four couples, the extra guest, the nanny and cook and all their children - that's a lot of characters to figure out in what is supposed to be a "fluffy" book! There are some witty moments but it's such a dark story that it is hard to really laugh out loud. It was entertaining but it just wasn't a favorite for me.

I read this book for the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.

It also counts for some of my other challenges....

The Last Odd Day by Lynne Hinton

2011-09-08T05:56:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads: From the bestselling author of Friendship Cake comes a remarkable story of love, loss, infidelity, and forgiveness

I've read a few of Lynne Hinton's books that are part of the Friendship Cake series and they've been okay. They are slow paced small town kind of stories. They've tackled some heavier topics - cancer, infidelity - but never felt heavy. This one, however, ugh, it was on the depressing side. The light hearted hopeful moments were few and far between instead we had angst and apathy and decline and death. One little blurb toward the end hit too close to home for comfort...

"What is strange, what has been strange, is that with everything that has happened to me, the deaths, the loneliness, the hard choices, all of it, the oddest thing of it all is that I thought I could lock it away, put it out of reach, protect myself, and never deal with any of it. And that somehow as long as I didn't share it with anyone else, it would be forever harmless to me and everyone around me."

Just went to the eye doctor Friday and he found a blister on my retina, inside of the eye ball on the back of it. He was puzzled because they are usually caused by stress and I appear so at ease. I guess that is a sign that my compartments of emotions are overly full! At this point we do nothing and check it again in two weeks to see if it is shrinking or growing. Keep your fingers crossed for shrinking!

This works for these challenges..

The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook by Matt Dunn

2011-09-07T01:02:00.001-04:00

From Goodreads:"It's not me-it's you."
When Edward Middleton hears those words from Jane, his girlfriend of ten years, he knows he's in serious trouble. Determined to get her back, Edward realizes he must learn how to make women want him again. But one thing is certain: if he's to be Jane's Mr. Right, he needs to turn himself around. From Atkins to waxing, Edward works his way through the makeover alphabet. But can he rise from the ranks of discarded exes, or will his journey take him in another direction entirely? With over 100,000 copies sold in the UK, this is a hilarious look at relationships from a man's point of view.

Chick lit from the boy's side. This was great fun. The same story written from a girl's point of view would not have been nearly as interesting. We see girls jumping through these hoops to get the guy all the time - dull, but the guy doing it, well that is something different! There really is not anything deep or meaningful to be said about this one but it was loads of fun!

This counts toward the e-book challenge. Click on the logo to see my progress.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan

2011-09-06T05:42:00.002-04:00

From Goodreads: Evelyn Ryan is an enterprising woman who kept poverty at bay with wit, poetry, and perfect prose during the "contest era" of the 1950s and 1960s. Evelyn's winning ways defied the church, her alcoholic husband, and antiquated views of housewives. To her, flouting convention was a small price to pay when it came to raising her six sons and four daughters. The story of this irrepressible woman is told by her daughter Terry.

Another memoir to feed my addiction. The mind blowing part of this one is supposed to be how the mother lifts her family up with her incredible jingle writing, contest winning skills but instead the part that blows me away is how bad women's situations could be at this time without the community being in an uproar. The husband is such a loser - an alcoholic who drinks his paycheck away and yet, he still has respect simply because he is the "man of the house". You just want to reach through the pages and slap him and everyone else who turns their head away and doesn't help. Despite my irritation with all that, I did enjoy the book and am adding it to my list of movies I need to rent and watch.

This works for these challenges..

Mailbox Monday

2011-09-05T05:16:00.046-04:00

Mailbox Monday started by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). This month Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Amused at Amused by Books. Stop by there to check out everyone else's mailboxes.

Mine are all thrift shop finds this week - yes, I have an addiction.

From Goodreads: One of the world’s most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer. Taking as territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. To that end, he has attached himself to a host of the world’s most advanced (and often obsessed) archaeologists, anthropologists, and mathematicians, travelling to their offices, laboratories, and field camps. He has read (or tried to read) their books, pestered them with questions, apprenticed himself to their powerful minds. A Short History of Nearly Everything is the record of this quest, and it is a sometimes profound, sometimes funny, and always supremely clear and entertaining adventure in the realms of human knowledge, as only Bill Bryson can render it. Science has never been more involving or entertaining. BookTiger loves everything Bill Bryson, so I figure I need to give him a try. Although I am not sure that this big thick thing is the right choice to start with. Might should have held out for A Walk in the Woods.

From Goodreads: Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. Life after life, crossing continents and dynasties, he and Sophia (despite her changing name and form) have been drawn together-and he remembers it all. Daniel has "the memory", the ability to recall past lives and recognize souls of those he's previously known. It is a gift and a curse. For all the times that he and Sophia have been drawn together throughout history, they have also been torn painfully, fatally, apart. A love always too short. Interwoven through Sophia and Daniel's unfolding present day relationship are glimpses of their expansive history together. From 552 Asia Minor to 1918 England and 1972 Virginia, the two souls share a long and sometimes torturous path of seeking each other time and time again. I read the Sisterhood stories and they were cute and fun. Let's see how she does with more grown up fare.

From Goodreads: From the Bestselling Author of Friendship Cake Comes a Remarkable Story of Love, Loss, Infidelity, and Forgiveness That's not much of a description now is it?! Hinton is an old friend kind of author, I don't need to know what it is about. I'll pick it up and read it.

From Goodreads: Caretta Rutledge thought she’d left her Southern roots and troubled family far behind. But an unusual request from her mother coming just as her own life is spinning out of control has Cara heading back to the scenic Lowcountry of her childhood summers. Before long, the rhythms of the island open her heart in wonderful ways as she repairs the family beach house, becomes a bona fide “turtle lady” and renews old acquaintances long thought lost. But it is in reconnecting with her mother that she will learn life’s most precious lessons true love involves sacrifice, family is forever and the mistakes of the past can be forgiven. Continuing my Mary Alice Monroe quest to read them all - love her!

From Goodreads: In a new thriller, worldwide bestselling suspense writer Mary Higgins Clark weaves the mystery of twin telepathy into a mother's search for a kidnapped child, presumed dead." "Margaret and Steve Frawley celebrate the third birthday of their twin girls, Kelly and Kathy, with an afternoon party in their new home, a modest fixer-upper in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The evening of the twins' birthday party, Steve and Margaret attend a black-tie dinner in New York. When they return home, the police are in the house, and they are told that the babysitter had been found unconscious, the children are gone, and a note demanding an eight-million-dollar ransom had been left in their room." "Steve Frawley's firm, a global investment company, agrees to pay the ransom. The kidnapper, who identifies himself as the "Pied Piper," makes his terms known - on delivery of the ransom, a call will come, revealing the girls' whereabouts. The call comes, but only Kelly is in the car parked behind a deserted restaurant. The driver is dead from a gunshot wound and has left a suicide note, saying he had inadvertently killed Kathy and had dumped her body in the ocean." "At the private memorial Mass for Kathy, Kelly tugs Margaret's arm and says: "Mommy, Kathy is very scared of that lady. She wants to come home right now." More unexplainable occurrences follow, indicating that Kelly is in touch with Kathy. At first, no one except the mother believes that the twins are communicating and that Kathy is still alive. As Kelly's warnings become increasingly specific and alarming, however, FBI agents set out on a search for Kathy. The novel reaches a breathtaking climax as they close in on the Pied Piper and his accomplices, while Kathy's life hangs by a thread." In delving into the well-documented but still unexplained phenomenon of twin telepathy, Mary Higgins Clark tells a spellbinding tale that takes us deep into the minds of her characters while lifting us to the heights of suspense. This sounds a little wacky to me (reminds me of the "heart" book where the transplant person started having images of the donors life. Maybe MHC is trying to keep it fresh but I like her unfresh just regular old stuff. Why am I whining about a book before I have even read it? and still planning to read it? Because it's MHC, I read all her books - no matter what, until death do us part.

From Goodreads: Ellen and Andy's first year of marriage doesn't just seem perfect, it is perfect. There is no question how deep their devotion is, and how naturally they bring out the best in each other. But one fateful afternoon, Ellen runs into Leo for the first time in eight years. Leo, the one who brought out the worst in her. Leo, the one who left her heartbroken with no explanation. Leo, the one she could never quite forget. When his reappearance ignites long-dormant emotions, Ellen begins to question whether the life she's living is the one she's meant to live. I liked her series that started with Something Borrowed so thought I would try this one too. It looks like it is part of the series because the cover is so similar but I don't think it is.

Room by Emma Donoghue

2011-09-03T12:13:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads: To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Doubt that anyone who reads book blogs actually needs the description above - this book has been EVERYWHERE! I went into it assuming this was a 5 star once in a lifetime read because the praise had been so consistent. It probably was a once in a lifetime read as I doubt I will ever forget this one as I do some others. But I only gave it 4 stars on Goodreads, it was interesting and emotional and parts were even thrilling but it just had that touch of sensational that made me not love, love, love it. Just one love! The very first time I heard the narrator was a child, I thought, "Yuck!" but then I read so many people who said it was okay that I felt assured and they were right, it really is okay. In fact, having someone else narrate would have been such a fundamental change that I doubt the book would have been nearly as intriguing. Then it really would have been just tabloid yuck. So, even though it is only 4 stars in my mind, it is also a must read simply becasue it is quick and so popular - it's more fun to be part of the discussion!

This works for these challenges..

1984 by George Orwell

2011-09-02T23:12:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads: Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, Orwell's narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions a legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.

Summer reading for Teen = summer reading for Mom too. I read the paperback. For Teen we originally bought the paperback, then we bought the Kindle edition, then we bought the Cliff's Notes, and finally we downloaded it off of audible.com and he listened. World's most expensive summer reading book ever!

I thought it was a pretty good read; often times, the Classics leave me cold but this one held my attention throughout (with one small exception, I really wanted to find out what would happen to the characters. Interesting to me that the dystopia that is all the rage now, is preceded by this book from 50+ years ago! I skipped over a hunk of "the book" within the book - man, that was D-R-Y! Skipping that bit didn't seem to keep me from understanding and enjoying the rest of the book so no guilt here. I am certainly glad that this version of 1984 didn't come to reality and now I know the whole story behind "Big Brother is watching you!" One more classic I can check off my list!

This works for these challenges..

Let's Get Back on Real Time!

2011-08-30T17:34:00.000-04:00

Once again I am faced with a backlog of books read but not posted. Rather than beat myself up over it, I am just going to list them here and if I get around to a post, great, if not, that's okay too!

Listen for the Whisperer by Phyllis Whitney. Classic Phyllis Whitney mystery - creepy and full of red herrings, ending with the dramatic confrontation! Phyllis Whitney was one that I started with straight out of grammar school and I will always love her books!

Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella. I am not a huge Shopaholic fan. The first one made me laugh out loud but then the sequel got tiresome. I took a long break and just now picked this one back up and it seemed better - I think absence made my heart go fonder!

Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled and Mrs. Pollifax on Safari by Dorothy Gillman - These cozy mysteries are quick reads and always interesting enough to hold my attention for an afternoon. Mrs. Pollifax is like the Ladies Detective Agency lady of the 1970's.

Okay - these last few deserve their own posts because I loved them...but just in case it never happens...here they are -
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein So unexpectedly wonderful! I mean, I knew that other peopel thought it was wonderful but I didn't expect that I would too. A dog? Race car driving? Just didn't seem like the formula for me but, of course, it was so much more than that. It was tragic. It was pummell this guy and make me cry over and over again. And I laughed too- "Give me my F*%$# thumbs, you monkeys!!!" that line just killed me.

Mennonite In a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen - Hi, I'm RoundFile, I have an addiction to memoirs. I especially like humorous ones so this was a dream for me. Loved it!

Never Change by Elizabeth Berg - I've read a few Elizabeth Berg's and they have not thrilled me. I kept thinking, 'Why do I keep picking these up when they aren't thrilling me?" Then this one did. I loved these characters. It was a very satisfying read. So I guess I'll plow through a few more of her books hoping for another gem.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - What a beautiful love story1 Love in all directions showed in so many different ways and involving so much sacrifice. it's especially powerful becasue it is all told against this backdrop of hatred and racism. I love historical fiction when it is doen well and this one is really done well. Great book!

These all count for the challenges...

Hector and the Secrets of Love by Francois Lelord

2011-08-26T16:45:00.001-04:00

From Amazon: Since his first captivating adventure in Hector and the Search for Happiness, Hector the young French psychiatrist has continued to explore the mysteries of the human soul. Having found that love seems virtually inseparable from happiness, he begins taking notes on this powerful emotion. But unbeknownst to him, Clara, the doctor's beloved, is making her own investigations into love. As much a love story as a novel about love, Hector and the Secrets of Love is a feel-good life manual wrapped in a globetrotting adventure, told with the blend of a fairy tale's naïve wisdom and a satirist's dry wit that has won Hector fans around the world.

This one was a win from The Library Thing Early Reviewers program. It was the second in a series so I was at a disadvantage going in but I don't think that is the reason that it didn't "click" with me. I wondered if it was because it was translated from the original Franch and perhaps I don't have the French sense of humor? It was at turns simplistic and then confusing. There were moments, however, when it was witty and I got a sense of what the book might be for those who enjoyed the author's style. And, there were a few characters that interested me enough to want to know what happened to them. So the occasional laugh and the need to know kept me listening until the end but it really wasn't a good book for me.

Southern Comfort by Fern Michaels

2011-08-25T17:47:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads: Atlanta homicide detective Patrick 'Tick' Kelly turned his back on the world the day his wife and children were murdered. Abandoning his city and his career, he holed up in a beach house on Mango Key, Florida, and drowned his grief in Jack Daniels. Now sober and a bestselling author, Tick would gladly stay a recluse forever if his brother Pete didn't keep trying to drag him back to the land of the living. After years of sacrificing her personal life in favour of her DEA job, special agent Kate Rush resigned and moved back to her native Miami. But the unofficial assignment that has just come her way is too intriguing to pass up. She and a fellow ex-agent are relocated to Mango Key to keep an eye on an imposing, mysterious fortress believed to be at the centre of a human trafficking ring. At first, the Kelly brothers are suspected of involvement, but Kate is sure Tick poses no danger - except for the slow-burning gaze that makes her breath catch and her heart race. Tick finds himself fascinated by Kate's investigation - and by her inviting mix of courage and kindness. Teaming up, they uncover a web of betrayal, blackmail, and ruthless greed. And as danger mounts, Tick realizes how far he'll go to protect the rare and surprising gift that's come his way: a second chance at a happy ending

This was good, not great, but good. It was clean, it was somewhat predictable, but it moved along at a good clip and held my attention. The predictable part was not so much plot but the characters - they were kind of stock - the jaded cop, the blowhard administrator so as things unfolded they acted pretty much exactly like I expected them to act. The dialogue was kind of cheesy, occasionally it was so bad it would distract me from the story as I thought, "People do not actually talk like this!" I liked the setting, would love to visit the Keys someday and lay on the beach, swim in the water, and drink in the bars! This would be a great book to take on vacation.

I received this book from the Goodreads First reads program. It counts for these challenges...

Spoken From the Heart by Laura Bush

2011-08-20T23:16:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads: In this brave, beautiful, and deeply personal memoir, Laura Bush, one of our most beloved and private first ladies, tells her own extraordinary story.

Born in the boom-and-bust oil town of Midland, Texas, Laura Welch grew up as an only child in a family that lost three babies to miscarriage or infant death. She vividly evokes Midland's brash, rugged culture, her close relationship with her father, and the bonds of early friendships that sustain her to this day. For the first time, in heart-wrenching detail, she writes about the devastating high school car accident that left her friend Mike Douglas dead and about her decades of unspoken grief.

Am I a huge Laura Bush fan? I wasn't, really didn't have much of an opinion at all. I would never have picked this book up except that a dear friend's daughter, one of BookTiger's best friends was involved in a tragic car accident and several people recommended it to her because of Laura Bush's similar event. The mama bear in me came out and I just had to see what people were recommending to this vulnerable teenager as a soother. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Although, in the interest of maintaining a clean conscious, I have to admit I didn't read the last little bit as it was overdue to go back to the library and I just didn't care enough to renew it. I liked the insider look at life in the White House - the measures they take for security and to manage such a large household are really fascinating. I didn't know about Mrs. Bush's passion for literacy and literature and how she established events and programs to promote books. So I am more of a fan than when I started out. I ended up thinking that the message regarding the car accident, the idea that you could survive, live with the grief and pain, and go on to do great things was effectively presented. Don't know that plowing through everything else to get to that message is possible if you are in the midst of that grief and pain but we can hope.

Mailbox Monday

2011-08-08T17:00:00.000-04:00

Mailbox Monday started by Marcia at A Girl and Her Books is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). This month Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Staci at Life in the Thumb. Stop by there to check out everyone else's mailboxes.

Because I have taken an unintended blogging break, I have a bunch of books to get caught up on. Here is the list....

From Goodreads: What makes up a family? For Casey it's sharing a house with her fiance, Michael, and his three children, whom she intends to nurture more than she ever took care of herself. But Casey's plans have come undone. Michael's silences have grown unfathomable and deep. His daughter Angel seethes as only a teenage girl can, while the wide-eyed youngest, Jewel, quietly takes it all in.
Then Michael's son, Dylan, runs off, and the kids' mother, a woman never afraid to say what she thinks, noisily barges into the home. That's when Casey decides that the silences can no longer continue. She must begin speaking the words no one else can say. She'll have to dig up secrets—including her own—uncovering the hurts, and begin the healing that is long overdue. And it all starts with just a few tentative words. . . .
This one was a Godoreads FirstReads win, I am looking forward to it as I very much enjoyed her other book I read.

From Goodreads: Everyone wins this game of literary tennis, a comedy of manners about envy in which Wickham skewers the nouveau riche. At their country estate, Patrick Chance and his wife host a weekend tennis party. As four couples gather on the sunny terrace, it seems obvious who among them is succeeding, and who is falling behind. But by the end of the party, nothing will be quite as certain. While the couples’ children amuse themselves with pony rides and rehearsals for a play, the adults suffer a series of personal revelations and crises. Wickham’s nonstop action reveals at every turn that matters may not be as they seem, and in the end one thing is crystal clear: the weekend is about anything but tennis. This was a win from the Library Thign Early Reviewer Program. I love Sophie Kinsella (who uses her alternate name Madeleine Wickham to pen this one) so I am expecting to enjoy it despite seeing others only gave it two stars.

From Amazon: Since his first captivating adventure in Hector and the Search for Happiness, Hector the young French psychiatrist has continued to explore the mysteries of the human soul. Having found that love seems virtually inseparable from happiness, he begins taking notes on this powerful emotion. But unbeknownst to him, Clara, the doctor's beloved, is making her own investigations into love. As much a love story as a novel about love, Hector and the Secrets of Love is a feel-good life manual wrapped in a globetrotting adventure, told with the blend of a fairy tale's naïve wisdom and a satirist's dry wit that has won Hector fans around the world. This one was a win from the Library Thing Early Reviewers program too. I've started this one in my carand it has taken awhile to grow on me, we'll see how it goes.

From Goodreads: Lippman sets many of the stories in this anthology, Hardly Knew Her, in familiar territory: her beloved Baltimore, from downtown to its affluent suburbs, where successful businessmen go to shocking lengths to protect what they have or ruthlessly expand their holdings, while dissatisfied wives find murderous ways to escape their lives. But Lippman is also unafraid to travel - to New Orleans, to an unnamed southwestern city, and even to Dublin, the backdrop for the lethal clash of two not-so-innocents abroad. Tess Monaghan is here, in two stories and a profile, aligning herself with various underdogs. And in her extraordinary, never-beforepublished novella, Scratch a Woman, Lippman takes us deep into the private world of a high-priced call girl/madam and devoted soccer mom, exploring the mystery of what may, in fact, be written in the blood.
I haven't read a Laura Lippman before despite reading so many positive reviews of her work. This was a win but I have searched my e-mail and can't remember from where! Was it you? If so, thank you!!

From Goodreads: A year after taking the chance of a lifetime, Cici, Lindsay, and Bridget are still trying to make a home for themselves on the newly-renovated Ladybug Farm. Life in the Shenandoah Valley is picturesque, but filled with unexpected trials— such as the introduction of two young people into the ordered life the women have tried to build for themselves. As the walls of the old house reveal their secrets and the lives of those who have gone before begin to unfold, the cobbled-together household starts to disintegrate into chaos. And when one of their members is threatened by a real crisis, they must all come together to fight for the roots they’ve laid down, the hopes they share, and the family they’ve become. Found this one at the Library Used Books and remembered how many people loved the Ladybug Farm so had to pick it up.

From Goodreads: Originally published in Switzerland, and gracefully translated into English by Carol Brown Janeway, The Reader is a brief tale about sex, love, reading, and shame in postwar Germany. Michael Berg is 15 when he begins a long, obsessive affair with Hanna, an enigmatic older woman. He never learns very much about her, and when she disappears one day, he expects never to see her again. But, to his horror, he does. Hanna is a defendant in a trial related to Germany's Nazi past, and it soon becomes clear that she is guilty of an unspeakable crime. As Michael follows the trial, he struggles with an overwhelming question: What should his generation do with its knowledge of the Holocaust? "We should not believe we can comprehend the incomprehensible, we may not compare the incomparable.... Should we only fall silent in revulsion, shame, and guilt? To what purpose?"Another old one that I came across for a quarter.

From Goodreads: In this sequel to the top-selling A Girl Named Zippy, the woman rising heroically from the couch is Zippy's mother, Dolonda. After years of languorous existence, this oversized couch potato emerged from the den to pursue a higher education. Dolonda was well read but in other ways seemed ill suited for college: This middle-aged, 260-pound coed had a husband who disapproved of the entire venture, no driver's license, and almost no money. Like its predecessor, She Got Up Off the Couch holds our attention with its sympathetic rendering of idiosyncratic family characters. Hilarious; heartbreaking; ultimately empowering.Never heard of this one but it sounds funny, I am a memoir junkie.

From Goodreads: Shopaholic Becky Bloomwood is pregnant, but the prospect of motherhood hasn't reined in her passion for fashion. In fact, this insatiable London shopper has a new excuse for raiding boutiques, catalogues, and baby shops for goodies. Amid all this happy expectation, though, lurks a major problem. Becky has become convinced that her hubby Luke has been fiddling with vampish obstetrician Venetia Carter. To allay her fears, our self-indulgent personal shopper hires a private detective to track down the truth. It won't surprise Shopaholic fans that this sets off a madcap romp that is more fun than an afternoon at Prada.I've committed to the series thus far - have to see it through until the bitter end.

Audiobook Week: Audiobook Resources

2011-06-10T05:13:00.012-04:00

Where do you learn about great audiobook titles? Find reviews? Buy your audiobooks? Share your secrets with the rest of us!

I wish I had some great secret reservoir of audiobook resources but I am kind of dull here. I check them out of the library and I buy them at used book shops or thrift stores. I haven't gotten tech-savvy enough to figure out the online resources I hear about like audible.com. Don't have much incentive to master them though because I don't have an iPod, so I am limited to CD's in the car. I could borrow one from one of my three children who all have iPods or I'm also sure it would somehow work on my iPad but it's all just too much. I'm Scarlett on this one...I'll figure it out tomorrow. (I know it is possible to listen to audiobooks from my Blackberry but haven't conquered that yet either.) Writing this post makes me feel like I have turned into my mother!

It made me giggle that Jen told me she tweeted about the giveaway yesterday (still going on if you want to enter), who would have ever thought the least tech savvy person in the universe would be tweeted about?

Audiobook Week: Audiobooks for the Uninitiated and Giveaway

2011-06-09T05:12:00.000-04:00

Whether you just started listening or have a long history with audiobooks, you probably have some suggestions for those new to audio whether for narrators, titles, or ways to experience the medium. Write a post, make a list, get creative.

Not very creative but I am going to list a few recent f"most interesting" reads and then, give them away. Jen, does such a great job organizing audiobook week that I want to put my own thank you out into the blogosphere in the from of a few gently used but very much enjoyed audiobooks. To enter just comment and then I'll draw a name from there on Sunday when audiobook week is all over. Two of the books were ones I loved and one book just fascinated me simply out of morbid curiosity - click on the covers to read my reviews if you can't just immediately figure out which is which!

From Goodreads: When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family. But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

From the Amazon product description: When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she leaves her London apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These two American girls never met their English aunt, only knew that their mother, too, was a twin, and Elspeth her sister. Julia and Valentina are semi-normal American teenagers--with seemingly little interest in college, finding jobs, or anything outside their cozy home in the suburbs of Chicago, and with an abnormally intense attachment to one another. The girls move to Elspeth's flat, which borders Highgate Cemetery in London. They come to know the building's other residents. There is Martin, a brilliant and charming crossword puzzle setter suffering from crippling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Marjike, Martin's devoted but trapped wife; and Robert, Elspeth's elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. As the girls become embroiled in the fraying lives of their aunt's neighbors, they also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including--perhaps--their aunt, who can't seem to leave her old apartment and life behind.

From the author's website: Julie Powell thought cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the craziest thing she’d ever do--until she embarked on the voyage recounted in her new memoir, CLEAVING.

Her marriage challenged by an insane, irresistible love affair, Julie decides to leave town and immerse herself in a new obsession: butchery. She finds her way to Fleischer’s, a butcher shop where she buries herself in the details of food. She learns how to break down a side of beef and French a rack of ribs--tough, physical work that only sometimes distracts her from thoughts of afternoon trysts.

The camaraderie at Fleischer’s leads Julie to search out fellow butchers around the world--from South America to Europe to Africa. At the end of her odyssey, she has learned a new art and perhaps even mastered her unruly heart.

America's Women by Gail Collins

2011-06-08T16:18:00.000-04:00

Although it's a cultural history of women in America since the first European settlers, America's Women possesses none of the stodginess or predictability of such chronicles. Former New York Times editorial writer Collins has a keen sense of her subject's richness. The author of Scorpion Tongues moves from everyday details to social generalization without sacrificing the thrust of her narrative or her central theme: "the tension between the yearning to create a home and the urge to get out of it."

I have had this one sliding around on the floor of the car forever waiting until I had absolutely nothing else left to listen to - my expectations for enjoyment were LOW. I went in with such low expectations that my experience exceeded them just by being somewhat interesting. America's Women is a series of essays about women in American history highlighting some names that were familiar and some new to me. Gail Collins actually tells a good story and because this was like a series of short stories with just the tiniest bit of reflection/discussion thrown in, I enjoyed the essays. The essays were in chronological order, that really helped with my weak history background. It was also a good book for the car since they were fairly short essays and could usually be finished in one trip. I would never have made it through in print because it didn't "hook" me - this was a very passive experience on my part. I started the car, it came up through the speakers and I just let it play.

Thinking about the content - the role of women in history and especially the challenges they have faced, this book gave a great overview. Time allows for some of it to seem quaint, the rules from the days of the old west about riding side saddle. But the fights for racial equality are still hurtful to hear about and the idea of the ERA not passing through with ease in my own lifetime is really hard to wrap my head around. I enjoyed the stories and I think I learned a little bit.

And, because it is Audiobook Week, this can count as an entry in all the great giveaways Jen has going on!

Audiobook Week: Mid-week meme

2011-06-08T11:32:00.002-04:00

Current/most recent audiobook: I am listening to T.C. Boyle's The Women about Frank Lloyd wright and the women in his life. I've wanted to read this one ever since I read and loved Loving Frank . Frank Lloyd Wright is an interesting guy.
Impressions: Well, although I have wanted this forever, I may not make it through. I have finished the first of fourteen discs and it has not captured my attention; there's a lot of big words and not much action. I am going to keep on for a bit and see how it goes.

Current favorite audiobook: All time favorite would have to be Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson. That one just knocked my socks off!

One narrator who always makes you choose audio over print: I always choose audio for the David Baldacci books narrated by Ron McLarty. I don't think I would ever take the time to sit down and read one of Baldacci's action/adventure books but I am content to listen to them while I am driving.

Genre you most often choose to listen to: I am a genre slut - I do 'em all and have no distinct preference.

If given the choice, you will always choose audio when: it's humor like David Sedaris. I love to laugh in the car!

If given the choice, you will always choose print when: There's going to be extensive quoting from diaries or letters or such. I have a hard time with those transitions on audio - can't keep my place.

(I'll add a plug, I have a little giveaway tomorrow - like a hostess gift - nothing big just a "thank you all for inviting me to the Audiobook Week party" kind of thing.

Audiobook Week: Sound Effects in Audiobooks

2011-06-07T17:11:00.032-04:00

Love them? Hate them? Take them or leave them? How do you feel about sound effects in audiobooks?
Alternate suggestions: Single narrator vs. multiple narrators vs. full cast, audio dramatizations, etc.

I'm a day late (and a dollar short) on this one - forgive me. I had to work a twelve hour day yesterday so please cut me some slack and now I have the morning off to compensate me so I am catching up! Regarding today's (yesterday's) question... I am probably in the minority saying I am not a big fan of sound effects. I must have the attention span of a gnat because the "voice on the phone" effect or hearing some music in the background just totally yanks me out of the story and makes me notice the sound effect rather than attend to the story.

I had a great time reading other people's thoughts on narrators. It really opened my eyes to the times when multiple narrators would be a good thing. One example was The Help which I read in print but can totally see being great with multilpe narrators on audio because of the way the point of view changes with the change of each chapter. Now, my bad multiple narrator experience came from a recent David Baldacci book - Hell's Corner. Rather than have one of my favorite narrators Ron McLarty read the whole thing as he has done in the other books I've listened to. They added a female voice for the women in the story. I found it very disconcerting because she would just pop in whenever a female talked. So it would be going along great with McLarty voicing all the men and doing the narrative portions and then all of a sudden this woman would pipe in and jar me - yuck.

Thta's it for Tuesday. Happy audiobook week everybody. I am going to giveawy some audiobooks with the Thursday post about book suggestions so check back.

Audiobook Week: 2010-2011, Your Audiobook Year

2011-06-06T05:10:00.025-04:00

Are you new to audiobooks in the last year? Have you been listening to them forever but discovered something new this year? Favorite titles? New times/places to listen? This is your chance to introduce yourself and your general listening experience.

I have been listening to audiobooks for about three years. Not sure what got me started but once I did I was hooked. I am pretty easy to please but have found that I prefer books narrated by a single, professional reader. It flows better for me with one voice changing ever so slightly for the different characters than more than one voice which I find somewhat jarring. I also have come to appreciate a professional narrator as some of the author-read books have been almost intolerable. (There are exceptions to this - David Sedaris comes right to mind as an author who does an outstanding job reading his books.)

I particpate in the audiobook challenge over at Teresa's Reading Corner although I am often negligent about posting my reviews!

The Butterfly's Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe

2011-06-05T06:30:00.002-04:00

From Goodreads: Four very different women embark on a transformational journey that follows the migrating monarchs across the United States to Mexico. The story begins when Luz Avila's grandmother, the local butterfly lady, purchases an old, orange VW bug for a road trip home to Mexico. When she unexpectedly dies, Luz is inspired to take her grandmother's ashes home. In the manner of the Aztec myth of the goddess who brings light to the world, Luz attracts a collection of lost women, each seeking change in their lives. The Mexican people believe the monarchs are the spirits of the recently departed and Luz taps into ancient rituals and myths as she follows the spectacular, glittering river of orange monarchs in the sky to home.
I really enjoyed this one. I was excited to win it as a First Reads pick expecting the Southern fiction I love. Mary Alice Monroe is for me linked to the South Carolina coast but this book took me out of that comfort zone on a journey from Wisconsin to Mexico. I loved how fully Monroe was able to immerse me in the Mexican-American culture with her descriptions. I liked that the characters were multi-faceted, it wasn't a rosy, carefree "girls on the loose" ride to Mexico; the main character, Luz, faced some gritty challenges and it was empowering to feel her grow stronger as she traveled. I liked the bittersweet ending - not everything turns out like a fairy tale. A few of the minor characters were so interesting, that I am hoping they have spin-off potential!

Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult

2011-06-04T19:53:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads: As Jodi Picoult's Picture Perfect begins, it is daybreak in downtown Los Angeles. A woman suffering from amnesia is taken in by an officer new to the L.A. police force, after he finds her wandering aimlessly near a graveyard. Days later, when her husband comes to claim her at the police station, no one is more stunned than Cassie Barrett to learn that not only is she a renowned anthropologist, but she is married to Hollywood's leading man, Alex Rivers.
As Alex helps Cassie become reaccustomed to her fairy-tale existence, fragments of memory return: the whirlwind romance on location in Africa, her major anthropological discovery, the trajectory of Alex's career. Yet as Cassie settles into her glamor-filled life, uneasiness nags at her. She senses there is something troubling and wild that she cannot remember, something that would alter the picture of her perfect marriage. When she finds a positive pregnancy test in her bathroom, she is flooded with dark memories. Trying to piece together her past, she runs to the only person she trusts will keep her hidden--Will Flying Horse, the policeman who had initially harbored her.

Well, this one was not a homerun for me. I am having a string of Jodi Picoult bad luck. Tenth Circle was okay, Change of Heart was just okay too, and this one was just not even as okay as the others. How could I just love My Sister's Keeper (pre-blogging days so no review) and then not connect with any of her other books I read? I'm not really enthused by Native American settings (Team Edward not Jacob) unless they are done really well. So the use of the Native American stories and the chacracter Will and his family felt more like a distraction since they didn't capture my interest. And, what's with the cover? What does a yellow sundress on a fishing pole in the middle of a field have to do with this story? I must have missed something.

BookTiger tells me that Nineteen Minutes is good so that one is still on my list and we'll see how it stacks up against these others.

Water for Elephants - the movie

2011-06-03T19:56:00.000-04:00

I saw Water for Elephants last night. I read the book when it first came out in paperback probably four or five years ago so it wasn't exactly fresh! I felt like the movie stayed pretty close to the book; the kind of seamy quality to circus life was definitely there. I am a Reese Witherspoon fan - if I see Legally Blonde on TV I will watch it every time! But in this movie, vampire boy stole the show. His emotions seemed so much more real, he was believeable as Jacob where Reese looked like she was acting as Marlena.

Just in case you didn't read the book, here's a synopsis from Goodreads - (book is highly recommended): Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

The Return Journey by Maeve Binchy

2011-06-01T11:04:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads: In The Return Journey, Maeve Binchy brings us sons and lovers, daughters and strangers, husbands and wives in their infinite variety—powerfully compelling stories of love, loss, revelation, and reconciliation. A secretary's silent passion for her boss meets the acid test on a business trip....A man and a woman's mutual disdain at first sight shows how deceptive appearances can be....An insecure wife clings to the illusion of order, only to discover chaos at the hands of a house sitter who opens the wrong doors....A pair of star-crossed travelers take each other's bags, and then learn that when you unlock a stranger's suitcase, you enter a stranger's life. In their company are many more, whose poignant, ironic, often humorous stories—unforgettable slices of life—make up The Return Journey, a spellbinding trip into the human heart.

Just exactly what I expected, isn't that the beauty of Maeve Binchy? You know what you are going to get! This was an easy to read collection of stories; a few of which I enjoyed very much and some of which were completely forgettable. I was trying to decide if there was some sort of theme to what I liked but really couldn't find one. I think it boils down to whether or not I befriend the character in my mind. I could definitely relate to the women with insecurities - one with a good result as she finally sees her own worth compared to the man she has been pursuing and one with disastrous results when she compares herself to another woman and feels she comes up short. I also like the ones about family relationships - a daughter trying to connect with her father in a way beyond the normal superficiality of their relationship. Overall just a solid Binchy book - a nice curl up and read kind of book.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

2011-05-31T16:22:00.002-04:00

From Goodreads: Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator of The Lace Reader, hails from a family of Salem women who can read the future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going back generations, but the disappearance of two women brings Towner home to Salem and the truth about the death of her twin sister to light.

The Lace Reader is a mesmerizing tale that spirals into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies, and half-truths in which the reader quickly finds it's nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction, but as Towner Whitney points out early on in the novel, "There are no accidents."

I finally picked this one for my "L" book for the A-Z Reading Challenge and I am so glad I did. Once I sat down to read, it caught my attention right away and I fnished it up a day later neglecting my chores to read and read some more. I really enjoyed the glimpse into the town of Salem. I had heard of Salem before (of course) but had no idea of what it might be like today with the tourists looking for witches in the historic parts of town. I also enjoyed the idea of island life described through the eyes of a "townie". That contrast of tourists versus locals is really a timeless theme. I also loved the characters - even the bad ones held my interest. Somewhat of a spoiler discussion from here on out so stop reading if you haven't read it yet! As I read, I knew there was something I was missing. I even thought of the movie Sixth Sense and tried to figure out if there was a ghost. I knew there was one ghost, Eva, but suspected there may be another one. But even though I was actively investigating what the mystery might be...I did not figure it out and, boy, was I surprised. Surprised in a good way. Surprised in a way that made me want to go back and reread the book with this new information - which I did in small parts but not all the way through (I was most interested in the Jack piece of it). Overall, this is one of the better books I have read lately. I think it will stick with me for awhile!

Mailbox Monday

2011-05-30T06:10:00.030-04:00

Miranda's Big Mistake by Jill Mansell

2011-05-28T08:01:00.006-04:00

From Goodreads: Miranda is overjoyed when she meets Greg at a cocktail party. Greg is handsome and funny, but he has not told Miranda everything about himself, such as the pregnant wife he has just abandoned.

This was a fun book to read; it is Brit chick lit done well with a cast of interesting characters in both posh situations and working class ones as well. You have to abandon reality to accept all the coincidences that make the plot work but because I liked the characters and wanted to see each of them get their due (whether their due was happiness or utter humiliation), I was happy to suspend my disbelief! This is the second Jill Mansell book I have read, the first was Millie's Fling. I enjoyed them both as e-book bargains, Millie was free and Miranda only 99 cents. That marketing technique certainly hooked me because Jill Mansell is on my list now of authors I like!

This counts toward the e-book challenge. Click on the logo to see my progress.

What Good is God? by Philip Yancey

2011-05-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

From the Amazon product description: Journalist and spiritual seeker Philip Yancey has always struggled with the most basic questions of the Christian faith. The question he tackles in WHAT GOOD IS GOD? concerns the practical value of belief in God. His search for the answer to this question took him to some amazing settings around the world: Mumbai, India when the firing started during the terrorist attacks; at the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated; on the Virginia Tech campus soon after the massacre; an AA convention; and even to a conference for women in prostitution. At each of the 10 places he visited, his preparation for the visit and exactly what he said to the people he met each provided evidence that faith really does work when what we believe is severely tested. WHAT GOOD IS GOD? tells the story of Philips journey--the background, the preparation, the presentations themselves. Here is a story of grace for armchair travelers, spiritual seekers, and those in desperate need of assurance that their faith really matters.

This was just okay for me. It probably was not a good choice for me in audio and would have been better in print. The book is a compilation of speeches that Yancey has given. Each speech is preceeded by an introduction to the location and situation of the speech; the introductions are filled with anecdotes. Then he reads the speech, the speeches are also also filled with anecdotes. So it was hard for me to keep track of where I was in the book because the feel of the introductions and the speeches were so similar that I would confuse them. They were interesting but they all seemd to run together as I listened. I think in print, it would be more apparent where you were and you could kind of mull over and let one section "settle" before you moved on to the next. My other problem was that it was narrated by the author. His voice was very soothing, really very soothing, so soothing it was to the point that it reminded me of an old Saturday Night live bit, it was just too much. So I was plugging away at it because it was a freebie I won and I always feel like I ought to finish those. i was getting more detached from it and less interested when I bought Can you Keep A Secret? and took a quick six hour break to listen to that. When I returned to What Good Is God? I was ready to listen again, more attentive, and really enjoyed the last few discs. That's what leads me to say it would be better n print when you could read and stop, read and stop, rather than audio where it just keeps coming at you whether you are ready or not.

Thank you to Mason Canyon at Thoughts in Progress for hosting the giveaway that sent this book to me.

Here is the author's website: http://www.philipyancey.com/home/about

Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

2011-05-26T05:10:00.003-04:00

From Goodreads: Meet Emma Corrigan, a young woman with a huge heart, an irrepressible spirit, and a few little secrets:

Secrets from her mother:
I lost my virginity in the spare bedroom with Danny Nussbaum while Mum and Dad were downstairs watching Ben-Hur.
Sammy the goldfish in my parents’ kitchen is not the same goldfish that Mum gave me to look after when she and Dad were in Egypt.

Secrets from her boyfriend:
I weigh one hundred and twenty-eight pounds. Not one eighteen, like Connor thinks.
I’ve always thought Connor looks a bit like Ken. As in Barbie and Ken.

From her colleagues:
When Artemis really annoys me, I feed her plant orange juice. (Which is pretty much every day.) It was me who jammed the copier that time. In fact, all the times.

Secrets she wouldn’t share with anyone in the world:
My G-string is hurting me.
I have no idea what NATO stands for. Or even what it is.

Until she spills them all to a handsome stranger on a plane. At least, she thought he was a stranger.

But come Monday morning, Emma’s office is abuzz about the arrival of Jack Harper, the company’s elusive CEO. Suddenly Emma is face-to-face with the stranger from the plane, a man who knows every single humiliating detail about her. Things couldn’t possibly get worse—Until they do.

I was 6 discs in to listening to What Good is God? when I spied this one on the shelf of a thrift store for $1.50. I snatched it right up because I LOVED this book in print. I bought it, read it, and passed it on. Then repeated that whole cycle TWO more times when I came across it at tag sales and such because it just made me laugh each time I read it. As soon as I got in the car, What Good is God? came right out of the CD player and in went Sophie Kinsella. Now, I worry a little bit about what that says about my character that I would so easly turn away from a work of theology and evangalism for some Brit chick lit but that's exactly what I did and I am happy with my choice. The narrator had a great accent that brought the characters to life. The book was abridged for audio and I did notice when they left out one of my absolutely favorite lines but I just added the line back in in my head and laughed aloud remembering it. Enjoying this book again, for the first time on audio, was a joyous 6 hours. If you enjoy the occasional chick lit, this is a great one.

"I'm Black and I'm Proud," Wished the White Girl

2011-05-25T06:36:00.017-04:00

From Goodreads: Living within a "Black World" and coming to know racism first-hand is rarely the path traveled by the average white American. Lynn Markovich Bryant shares her story of living within a black environment and dealing with racism.

I found this memoir fascinating because of the "inside look" it gave to race relations in Beaufort during integration and the repercussions still affecting life here today. Although I was fascinated by the book, I had a hard time deciding if it was the actual story or if it was more of the then and now look at the community with which I am intimately familiar. As I read, I wondered if someone from another part of the country would appreciate it less or more reading it without knowing the landmarks and some of the people described. It was a fast read and the sequence of events was for the most part fairly linear which allowed me to keep track of things easily. While I am glad that the author used her real voice as she wrote, there were times that I found the asides distracting. Lickety split I am passing this one on to a friend so I have someone to discuss it with and I'll be checking back on Goodreads to see what other readers have to say!

What's On Your Nightstand? May 2011

2011-05-24T06:30:00.000-04:00

This monthly feature is hosted by 5 Minutes for Books on the last Tuesday of every month. Click on the logo to go and check out all the participants.

On the bottom is I'm Black and I'm Proud wished the White Girl, it's by a local author about her experience growing up in small town south in the sixties as a child in a multi-racial family. She's white but identified more with the black community and felt more accepted there as well. It's been very interesting so far.

Next is The Butterfly's Daughter by Mary Alice Monroe. I won this one from the Goodreads First Reads program and am enjoying it thus far.

On the Road by Jack Kerouac is one I couldn't get through on audio so have decided to try the print and see if that is better for me. I'll be honest, I'm not laying any money down on it. I find that the books that appeal to intellectual males, tend not to appeal to me. (Broom of the System comes right to mind)

Finally on top is an audio I came across in a thrift shop, Strangers in Death by JD Robb. She has written approximately a kazillion of these "in Death" books and I have read exactly one, Memory in Death. It's not something I would sit down and read (too many more preferred books in my TBR pile) but it will pass the time in the car!

This same picture was on my March nightstand post! I've made zero progress towards picking out reading an "L" book for the A-Z Reading Challenge so that is still on my "to-do" list! Hopefully I won't be saying that again in June or July!

Mailbox Monday

2011-05-23T06:09:00.027-04:00

Forever Friends by Lynne Hinton

2011-05-21T17:17:00.003-04:00

From Goodreads: Welcome back to Hope Springs, the small southern town introduced in the bestselling Friendship Cake, in which the women of Hope Springs Community Church first came together to whip up a cookbook like no other -- a project that turned out to be an ideal recipe for friendship. Now, Lynne Hinton returns with her engaging storytelling and brings the friendship of these delightful women to life once more in the third installment of the beloved Hope Springs series.

I've read the first book in this series, Friendship Cake, and the fourth book in the series, Christmas Cake, and this, the third book in the series, Forever Friends. So I am out of order and missing one altogether but overall, still enjoying the series as a light read. Even though the main characters have stayed the same through the series, I have had a little bit of trouble keeping track of who is who, I do chalk that up to reading out of order because I have some of their back stories mixed up in my head! Each book also has sub-plots involving other people in the community and those have been interesting and easy to follow. The author, Lynne Hinton, was a pastor and her faith is a part of the books but it is not overwhelming by any stretch. I think in one of my other reviews, I compared the series to the Mitford series and that is still my impression. I have my eye out for Hope Springs and Wedding Cake because I would like to read those too.

Mailbox Monday

2011-05-16T16:01:00.000-04:00

Here's the description from Goodreads: Four very different women embark on a transformational journey that follows the migrating monarchs across the United States to Mexico. The story begins when Luz Avila's grandmother, the local butterfly lady, purchases an old, orange VW bug for a road trip home to Mexico. When she unexpectedly dies, Luz is inspired to take her grandmother's ashes home. In the manner of the Aztec myth of the goddess who brings light to the world, Luz attracts a collection of lost women, each seeking change in their lives. The Mexican people believe the monarchs are the spirits of the recently departed and Luz taps into ancient rituals and myths as she follows the spectacular, glittering river of orange monarchs in the sky to home.

I've started this one already and it has been good so far. I was surprised by the gradnmother's death so soon into the book but shouldn't have been. It is right there in the blurb that it happens right away - but, nevertheless, I still was surprised that it happened right away!

Mary Alice Monroe is a local author so I was very excited to get this particular book through the Goodreads First Reads program - I'm happy to win any book but winning one I already had on my mental wish list is especially thrilling! I've read one of her's before Time Is a River but apparently never posted about it (imagine that!) and I have another, Sweetgrass, here in my TBR stack. The other one that got a lot of publicity was Last Light Over Carolina. She's written probably a dozen more but I don't know anything about the others.

Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz

2011-05-10T20:50:00.001-04:00

From Goodreads: Jayne Ann Krentz borrows from the legend of the Hatfields and McCoys and throws in a few echoes of Romeo and Juliet in her latest saga of romance and intrigue. Eclipse Bay is the first in what promises to be an exciting new trilogy. Death and desire walk hand in hand in the tiny town of Eclipse Bay, located along the rocky coast of Oregon. The steep cliffs and crashing waves are no less hazardous than the nasty secrets that many in town keep. And at the heart of it all is the generations-long rivalry and hostilities between two families: the Hartes and the Madisons.

I needed an "E" book for the A-Z Reading Challenge and before I had a chance to explore some suggestions, this audiobook fell in my lap and the ~~lazy~~ easy thing to do was just pop it in and listen! Despite being written in 2000, it took me straight back to the early '80's when I read lots of "sweeping sagas" with family feuds and romances. I gave it a 2 on Goodreads because it was fairly easy to tell where things were going with the romance right from the first minute so the convulated path it took just felt contrived. The characters were very soap-opera like - the good girl, the bad boy, the eccentric aunt - no one who I really related to and liked. But, I spend so much time in the car that I am over being picky, it was "listenable" and I enjoyed it for what it was!

Where I've Been...

2011-05-05T16:18:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in almost a month! Have you wondered where I have been?

One of the biggest things that has kept me busy the last few weeks has been Relay for Life. I was a team captain honoring a dear, sweet friend who is in the thick of her cancer battle. Since January I have been coordinating meals for the family and things really heated up when it came time for the actual Relay event. We did great. We fund raised double what our goal was, we had great participation, and I know my dear sweet friend felt loved and supported.

The next thing that kept me busy was preparing to host Bunko. For years I was in a relaxed Bunko group; all that hosting involved was throwing out the card tables and opening the wine. We all had kids and jobs and pets and life was crazy so we ignored the mess and focused on the fun. But that group disbanded and I have ended up playing with a very different sort of crew. These twelve women are mostly retired or perhaps work part-time, they have grown children or no children, and their homes are big, beautiful, spotless mansions on the water. Bunko is preceded by a sit down dinner for all twelve - a lot more preparation! They are a lot of fun but they are used to good food and clean houses - those things require a lot of effort on my part! Our house was suffering from some neglect, the worst being where the puppy had chewed three holes in the wall during her chewing stage! So hosting Bunko involved painting both my kitchen and the hallway and getting some landscaping accomplished. There were a dozen other things that should have been done but those chores took up three solid weekends so we just ran out of time! Now we have until my turn next year to accomplish the rest!

We have also started Spring sports here at the RoundFile home. Youngest is playing flag football in a church league. That's not too bad, one practice during the week and a game on Saturday. Teen is a different story, rec league soccer is quite a time commitment. He has two practices during the week (sometimes an extra one to make three!) and a week night game and a weekend game.

Spring break kept me busy too. One thing about living at the beach, people do come visit! I had friends come from Maryland, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Not all together - these were all separate visits. Only one actually stayed at my house but I did spend time visiting with everyone and organizing get togethers. There has been a lot of eating going on 'round here! I am almost to my pregnancy delivery weight - Lord, have mercy!!!

Yesterday was a trip to Clemson to bring BookTiger home for the summer. She has finished freshman year. I am now the proud parent of a college sophomore!

Other things this week - a funeral today and a wedding tomorrow and a baby shower Sunday! So...that's where I've been, probably more than you wanted to know! I have read a little bit, I hope to get those books posted soon. I have 300 posts backed up on my Google Reader but hope that I will get to those soon too! I miss my blog and my blogging friends - I'll be back!

In the Name of Honor by Richard North Patterson

2011-05-03T20:57:00.000-04:00

From Goodreads: Home from Iraq, a lieutenant kills his commanding officer—was it self-defense or premeditated murder? An enthralling novel of suspense about the high cost of war and secrets

The McCarrans and the Gallaghers, two military families, have been close for decades, ever since Anthony McCarran—now one of the army's most distinguished generals—became best friends with Jack Gallagher, a fellow West Pointer who was later killed in Vietnam. Now a new generation of soldiers faces combat, and Lt. Brian McCarran, the general's son, has returned from a harrowing tour in Iraq. Traumatized by wartime experiences he will not reveal, Brian depends on his lifelong friendship with Kate Gallagher, Jack's daughter, who is married to Brian's commanding officer in Iraq, Capt. Joe D'Abruzzo. But since coming home, D'Abruzzo also seems changed by the experiences he and Brian shared—he's become secretive and remote.

Tragedy strikes when Brian shoots and kills D'Abruzzo on their army post in Virginia. Brian pleads self-defense, claiming that D'Abruzzo, a black-belt martial artist, came to his quarters, accused him of interfering with his marriage, and attacked him. Kate supports Brian and says that her husband had become violent and abusive. But Brian and Kate have secrets of their own, and now Capt. Paul Terry, one of the army's most accomplished young lawyers, will defend Brian in a high-profile court-martial. Terry's co-counsel is Meg McCarran, Brian's sister, a brilliant and beautiful attorney who insists on leaving her practice in San Francisco to help save her brother. Before the case is over, Terry will become deeply entwined with Meg and the McCarrans—and learn that families, like war, can break the sturdiest of souls.

This one was kind of interesting. The topic of PTSD is certainly timely, more and more of our service members are plagued with mental health issues when they return from combat. The murder mystery was not riveting so the numerous repetitions needed throughout the story got tiresome. Patterson did a great job nailing the characters, I may not have liked them all but they were certainly people I recognized and could relate to. There was a potential "big twist" and I was ready to listen through the murder scenario a thousand times to have my suspicions either confirmed or denied! That part had me hooked. My final thought is that the narrator was a little tough to get used to - I never really warmed up to his voice but I did get used to it so that it didn't bother me as much as the book went on (weak praise at best, I know!).

All the Time In the World by E.L. Doctrow

2011-04-10T18:46:00.001-04:00

From Goodreads: From Ragtime and Billy Bathgate to World’s Fair, The March, and Homer & Langley, the fiction of E. L. Doctorow comprises a towering achievement in modern American letters. Now Doctorow returns with an enthralling collection of brilliant, startling short fiction about people who, as the author notes in his Preface, are somehow “distinct from their surroundings—people in some sort of contest with the prevailing world”.

This stunning collection, contains six unforgettable stories that have never appeared in book form and a selection of previous Doctorow classics.

All the Time in the World affords us another opportunity to savor the genius of this American master.

The last two books I have posted about have been kind of fluffy light reads and ended up duds. This was a serious work and at first I thought, "another dud" but it has stayed with me and gotten even more interesting over time. I enjoy some short stories (You'll Know When the Men Are Gone) (Jumpha Lahiri) but I struggled with these. They were difficult for me because they had some challenging vocabulary but more so because of E.L. Doctrow's writing style. He doesn't use quotes to delineate speech and he doesn't attribute the speech to specific characters with "he said" or "said Joe". There were times when I felt the rhythm of the exchanges and could tell who was conversing and who said what. But there were just as many times where I would get lost and think what the heck is going on?, who's talking?, who said that? So the first time through reading the stories, I could hardly enjoy them because I was trying so hard to understand them. Of the dozen stories there were five that I liked quite a bit right off the bat (Heist, Walter John Harmon, A House on the Plains, Jolene: A Life, and The Writer in the Family). Then the second time around a few more grabbed me. So really, I was left with only one, (Liner Notes: The Songs of Billy Bathgate0 that I just didn't like. Perhaps that particular story assumes some knowledge of Doctrow's book about Billy Bathgate which I haven't read - I couldn't tell whether or not that is the case because it was just too confusing to even try and figure out! So this collection of short stories is best taken in small doses and then reflected upon and read again.

I read this book as part of the Goodreads First Reads program.

Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith

2011-04-08T05:40:00.004-04:00

From Amazon: Joan Sanderson's life is stuck. Her older sister, Allie, is starting a family and her younger sister, Tori, has a budding career. Meanwhile, Joan is living at home with Mom and looking after her aging grandmother. Not exactly a recipe for excitement. That is, until a hunky young doctor moves in next door. Suddenly Joan has a goal--to get a date. But it won't be easy. Pretty Tori flirts relentlessly with him and Joan is sure that she can't compete. But with a little help from God, Allie, and an enormous mutt with bad manners, maybe Joan can find her way out of this rut. Book 1 of the Sister-to-Sister series, Stuck in the Middle combines budding romance, spiritual searching, and a healthy dose of sibling rivalry.

The description for this one appealed to me because I love stories about sisters. I have no sisters just two brothers so those sister relationships just fascinate me! But the description ended up being better than the book. It started out alright, kind of your average Kindle freebie, not great but tolerable - the sisters seemed a little immature, the main character was a bit whiny, but I thought it was going to go somewhere. Instead, the doctor/love interest moved in next door and everything went sour. The sisters' behavior became bizarre as they pursued this doctor - they were alternately hateful and loving to each other and none of it seemed realistic. Then, rather abruptly, it seemed like all the dialogue turned to religion. I am a pretty big church-goer but even I had to start skimming once the author started getting really preachy. It wasn't that faith was part of the story, it was more like the story was just a ruse to talk about faith and not a very good ruse. This is the first in a series, I will know not to download any of the others, even if they are free!

This counts toward the e-book challenge. Click on the logo to see my progress.

Death Dance by Linda Fairstein

2011-04-07T16:41:00.001-04:00

From Goodreads: Teaming up with longtime friends - NYPD's Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace - Assistant DA Alex Cooper investigates the disappearance of world-famous dancer Natalya Galinova, who has suddenly vanished backstage at Lincoln Center's Metropolitan Opera House - during a performance. The three colleagues are soon drawn into the machinations of New York City's secretive theatrical community, where ambition takes many forms, including those most deadly. Within the glamorous but sordid inner sanctums of the Broadway elite, the team confronts the ruthless power brokers who control both the stars and the stages where they appear. Meanwhile, Alex is working on a very different case, using a creative technique to nab a physician who has been drugging women in order to assault them. As Dr. Selim Sengor eludes capture, Alex must navigate the new investigative world of DFSA - drug-facilitated sexual assault - intent on proving him guilty.

Here I am again, jumping into the middle of a series and saying, "Meh, it didn't do much for me." And, I will, of course, always wonder..could it be because the characters have five previous books of history that I know nothing about? Maybe. But, character history aside, I found the set up of having two very different and totally unrelated cases in the story to be strange and strained. The book started out with the doctor date rape and then left that story for so long it felt like it was forgotten. When it all of a sudden popped back up again it seemed like an intrusion into what was now the real story. I also thought there were altogether too many odd, unlikable people. And, I didn't much care for the narrator although her flat voice did have a true crime feel to it - kind of like the guy who used to do the voice for Dragnet. This one just wasn't for me.

The Year She Fell by Alicia Rasley

2011-04-06T05:43:00.005-04:00

From Amazon: The tragic mystery at the heart of their family has finally surfaced . . . When Ellen Wakefield O'Connor is confronted by a young man armed with a birth certificate that mistakenly names her as his mother, she quickly sorts out the truth: his birth mother listed Ellen on the certificate to cover up her own identity, but also because Ellen is, in a way, related to the child. The birth father is Ellen's troubled husband, Tom. The secrets of the past soon engulf Ellen, Tom, and everyone they love. This drama of love, loss, family and betrayal will capture readers with its unforgettable power.

I actually finished this one quite awhile ago. It was one of those freebies for the IPad and probably not something I would have picked out except that it was free and it was so easy and I love free and easy! What I remember about the book a month later is that I did like it but I didn't love it; if I came across someone else who read it, I'd like to hear what they have to say but I'm not running out telling all my friends to read it. There was family - I love sister stories, there was a mystery, and there was current day dysfunction - all good stuff! What stands out the most though is the way the book was structured. The story is told through the different characters viewpoints but not alternating like you usually see done. It's more like each character gets their turn. And each time the view point changes there was some serious rehashing of the plot already covered. That was sort of interesting because you formed opinions based on one viewpoint and then those opinions were challenged by other characters. But, it ultimately didn't work for me because by the time I had heard the story X number of times, I was pretty much done and my mind wasn't changing even with some pretty good reasons. That old adage about you only get one chance to make a first impression was hard at work within me so I clung to the first impressions I had of the characters despite the later evidence. Overall = a light mystery that I enjoyed.

This counts toward the e-book challenge. Click on the logo to see my progress.

Hell's Corner by David Baldacci

2011-04-05T06:10:00.001-04:00

From the author's website: John Carr, aka Oliver Stone—once the most skilled assassin his country ever had—stands in Lafayette Park in front of the White House, perhaps for the last time. The President has personally requested that Stone serve his country again on a high-risk covert mission. Though he’s fought for decades to leave his past career behind, Stone has no choice but to say yes. But Stone’s mission changes drastically before it even begins. It’s the night of a State Dinner honoring the British Prime Minister. As he watches the Prime Minister’s motorcade leave the White House that evening, a bomb is detonated in Lafayette Park, an apparent terrorist attack against both the President and the Prime Minister. It’s in this chaotic aftermath that Stone takes on a new, more urgent assignment: find those responsible for the bombing.

This one started out shaky for me. It was sort of slow the opposite of what I think of with David Baldacci. It was also one of a series and I was jumping in the middle so I didn't have the characters' histories to flesh some of them out and maybe make them a little more likable. But more than either of those problems, what bothered me was the unexpected female narration. I was ready for Ron McLearty; because he has voiced the last few Baldacci books I've listened to, he is the voice I expect to hear when I pop a Baldacci into the CD player. He was there doing his usual outstanding job but then all of a sudden a female voice piped in to narrate the female characters - that was unexpected and unwelcome - I found it very jarring. But, as so often is the case, given a little bit of time, I got used to it and just let the story take over. The pace of the story quickened and soon we were thick into the action and I ended up enjoying it. It's not my favorite of his books, it was so very convoluted, but it was good enough.

Miss Hildreth Wore Brown by Olivia deBelle Byrd

2011-04-04T00:30:00.002-04:00

From OliviadeBelleByrd.com: While Olivia deBelle Byrd was repeating one of her many Southern stories for the umpteenth time, her long-suffering husband looked at her with glazed over eyes and said,“Why don’t you write this stuff down?” Thus was born Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle. If the genesis for a book is to shut your wife up, I guess that’s as good as any. On top of that, Olivia’s mother had burdened her with one of those Southern middle names kids love to make fun. To see “deBelle” printed on the front of a book seemed vindication for all the childhood teasing. With storytelling written in the finest Southern tradition from the soap operas of Chandler Street in the quaint town of Gainesville, Georgia, to a country store on the Alabama state line, Oliviade Belle Byrd delves with wit and amusement into the world of the Deep South with all its unique idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms. The characters who dance across the pages range from Great-Aunt LottieMae, who is as “old-fashioned and opinionated as the day is long,” to Mrs. Brewton, who calls everyone “dahling” whether they are darling or not, to Isabella with her penchant for mint juleps and drama. Humorous anecdotes from a Christmas coffee, where one can converse with a lady who has Christmas trees with blinking lights dangling from her ears, to Sunday church,where a mink coat is mistaken for possum, will delight Southerners and baffle many a non-Southerner. There is the proverbial Southern beauty pageant, where even a six-month-old can win a tiara, to a funeral faux pas of the iron clad Southern rule—one never wears white after Labor Day and, dear gussy, most certainly not to a funeral. Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle is guaranteed to provide an afternoon of laugh-out-loud reading and hilarious enjoyment.

What a treat of a book! I feel like I just sat on the porch with a friend laughing our way through stories. I really like Southern humor in this style, just gentle stories that find the humor in every day events. It reminds me a little bit of one of my favorite comediennes, Jeanne Robertson, another Southern humorist, and takes me back to the columns in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of Lewis Grizzard and Celestine Sibley. In this collection of essays, Olivia deBelle Byrd takes us through every stage of life. Her opening lines give a taste of what the book is like, "I got exactly two spankings growing up. That's one more than my daughter and 3,254 less than my son." Olivia tells tales of child-rearing and church going and shopping and hair - themes that every women will relate to, not just those raised in the South. All of the stories were great but I think she's at her best telling stories about her family. It's obvious that she loves them but everyone feels this way sometimes..."The only reason I've refrained from killing my husband is I really don't want to wear orange for the rest of my life." For anyone who's mother ever watched As The World Turns or ~~nagged~~ nudged them about writing thank you notes, this book will have you laughing.

These are the stops on the Miss Hildreth Wore Brown blog tour. I think you should go visit them. Really, do. Because I am so technologically unsavvy that I had to link them all by hand one at a time, and I would hate to think I did that for nothing!

Friday, April 1: Mrs. Q: Book Addict

Saturday, April 2: A Journey Into Reading

Sunday, April 3: Reading Between Pages

Monday, April 4: My Round File

Tuesday, April 5: Chaotic Compendium

Wednesday, April 6: 4 The Love of Books

Thursday, April 7: Knitting and Sundries

Friday, April 8: Chocolate and Croissants

Saturday, April 9: Lulilut's Stack O' Books

Sunday, April 10: Let Them Read Books

Monday, April 11: Steph the Bookworm

Tuesday, April 12: The Cajun Book Lady

Wednesday, April 13: Library of Clean Reading

Thursday, April 14: CMash Loves to Read

Friday, April 15: The Road to Here (Squirrel Queen)

Saturday, April 16: The Preppy Book Review

Sunday, April 17: Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Monday, April 18: Kelsey's Book Corner

Tuesday, April 19: Books and Life!

Wednesday, April 20: Life in the Thumb

Thursday, April 21: Diary of an Eccentric

Friday, April 22: Metroreader

Saturday, April 23: Just Books

Monday, April 25: Ramblings of a (Future) Librarian

Tuesday, April 26: Socrates' Book Reviews

Wednesday, April 27: My Life In Not So Many Words

Thursday, April 28: So Many Books, So Little Time

Friday, April 29: Peeking Between the Pages

Saturday, April 30: Under the Boardwalk

Bastard Out of Carolina - the movie

2011-04-03T09:18:00.000-04:00

I read this book by Dorothy Allison in 2006. My diary entry says, "Gritty, sick to your stomach scenes of violence and family turmoil. Hard to read but captivating." That about sums up the movie too, watching Bone get abused just feels like you are being kicked in the gut. The casting was great. Jennifer Jason Leigh is Bone's mother, Leigh's look can change from sweet to haggard in an instant - a quality that served her well in this movie.

But the star was Jena Malone as Bone. She was heartbreaking. She gave life to moments of pure childish joy like singing gospel songs with her sister into a spinning fan (remember how that makes you voice vibrate?) and then MISERY. She keeps getting taken to the brink of hope and then pushed down again. The scene where Bone is carried to the car by her mother is a prime example; it appears they are running away to safety....but then mama's hand reaches out that car window back into the muck - ugh, just kill me here and now. Overall, an emotional film that as much as I can remember with five years past, stayed true to the feeling of the book.

What's On Your Nightstand? March 2011

2011-03-29T16:49:00.000-04:00

This monthly feature is hosted by 5 Minutes for Books on the ~~last~~ fourth Tuesday of every month. Click on the logo to go and check out all the participants. (As you can see if you click through, I am a week late, I was thinking last but it is actually fourth...oops!)

Starting from the bottom...
All The Time in the World - This was a win from Goodreads, I've read the first few stories and should finish it up within the next few days.
Sarah's Key - This is our local library's book club selection for March. The meeting is next week so if I am going to participate I need to get busy reading!
Miss Hidreth Wore Brown - This is a really fun collection of essays of
Southern humor. I've read it once but need to read it again to write a
review for the blog tour coming up in April.
Thomas Jefferson- This one has been hanging around forever, I just need to buckle down and get it done. It's for the President's Reading project which I am very sloooooowly participating in. (I won't say completing because there is no hope of me ever completing it!) I am beginning to wonder who comes after Jefferson, (Washington, Adams, Jefferson, ____), that's why I am doing this project because my knowledge of history is so lacking.
The Diary of a Young Girl - Since I took this picture, I have finished this one. I had read it before when I was younger and went through my World War II phase - read The Hiding Place and this one and I don't remember what else. But it had been so many years it was like reading it for the first time. Now I want to watch the movie. I rented it to watch last weekend, didn't, returned it two days late with the accompanying late fees and am now preparing to rent it again - what's the definition of insanity?

This second group is my possible "L" pile. I am working on the A-Z Reading Challenge and ready for an "L" book. These all look good and I have heard great things about three of the four. Haven't heard anything about the Dorothea Benton Frank and she can be iffy for me, but she is such a quick read and so light. I may have to pick that one just as a palette cleanser after the heavier stuff above. If you click through on the A-Z Challenge you will see that I skipped "E". None of my "E" books excite me (The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Ella Minnow Pea, and Echo). Is there a wonderful "E" titled book that I should be looking for? What I have in my TBR pile just doesn't speak to me.

So for "L" it is either...

Little Giant of Aberdeen County
The Lace Reader
The Land of Mango Sunsets
Little Bee

Mailbox Monday

2011-03-21T06:02:00.000-04:00

Mailbox Monday started by Marcia at The Printed Page is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). This month Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Laura at I'm Booking It. Stop by there to check out everyone else's mailboxes.

From Goodreads: Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.
Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life. The book club at my local library picked this one as their March selection at right about the same time that I found it in a thrift store. I decided that was a sign that I was meant to read it and maybe even attend the book club meeting and meet some people outside of my regular circle! I only have a week to get it read so we'll see how this pans out!

From Goodreads: At twelve, Emily Parmenter knows alone all too well. Left mostly to herself after her beautiful young mother disappeared and her beloved older brother died, Emily is keenly aware of yearning and loss. Rather than be consumed by sadness, she has built a life around the faded plantation where her remote father and hunting-obsessed brothers raise the legendary Lowcountry Boykin hunting spaniels. It is a meager, narrow, masculine world, but to Emily it has magic: the storied deep-sea dolphins who come regularly to play in Sweetwater Creek; her extraordinary bond with the beautiful dogs she trains; her almost mystic communion with her own spaniel, Elvis; the dreaming old Lowcountry itself. Emily hides from the dreaded world here. It is enough.

And then comes Lulu Foxworth, troubled daughter of a truly grand plantation, who has run away from her hectic Charleston debutante season to spend a healing summer with the quiet marshes and river, and the life-giving dogs. Where Emily's father sees their guest as an entrée to a society he thought forever out of reach, Emily is at once threatened and mystified. Lulu has a powerful enchantment of her own, and this, along with the dark, crippling secret she brings with her, will inevitably blow Emily's magical water world apart and let the real one in—but at a terrible price.Anne Rivers Siddons is an author I like, her stories are often set in the Lowcountry and I enjoy that. This one looked good so I picked it up but there's no urgency to read it so it may be awhile!

From Goodreads: When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty-eight and she is twenty. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. Henry and Clare's attempts to live normal lives are threatened by a force they can neither prevent nor control, making their passionate love story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable. The Time Traveler's Wife is a story of fate, hope and belief, and more than that, it's about the power of love to endure beyond the bounds of time.This one got past me and I didn't really mind until I listened to Her Fearful Symmetry on audio and loved it. So I decided I need to read this one and then rent the movie!

From Goodreads: From Ragtime and Billy Bathgate to World’s Fair, The March, and Homer & Langley, the fiction of E. L. Doctorow comprises a towering achievement in modern American letters. Now Doctorow returns with an enthralling collection of brilliant, startling short fiction about people who, as the author notes in his Preface, are somehow “distinct from their surroundings—people in some sort of contest with the prevailing world”.

This stunning collection, contains six unforgettable stories that have never appeared in book form and a selection of previous Doctorow classics.

All the Time in the World affords us another opportunity to savor the genius of this American master.This was a win on Goodreads First Reads. My only recollection of E.L. Doctrow is reading Ragtime at about age thirteen enjoying the story well enough but then going back and rereading all the sex scenes because it was one of my first more mature selections and was quite a shift from Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden! I've already the first few stories and while I haven't fallen in love with any of the characters yet, I'm connecting with the stories and finding them interesting (and tyhey've all been clean reads thus far!).

Girls' Night In edited by Lauren Henderson and others

2011-03-11T09:42:00.001-05:00

From Goodreads: In this must-have short-story anthology, Jennifer Weiner revisits one of her Good in Bed characters (and tells the story from, ahem, his point of view), Jill A. Davis (Girls' Poker Night) offers a darkly humorous take on starting over in New York and working with "the Elizabeths," Sarah Miynowski (Milkrun) tempts fate (and an on-again-off-again boyfriend) and Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (The Dirty Girls Social Club) considers how different the words lady and woman are when paired with cat. Girls' Night In features stories about growing up, growing out of, moving out, moving on, falling apart and getting it all together.

When I saw this book, I thought, "Jackpot! This is going to be fun!". But in actuality, it was not. There were some good stories but there were also several I didn't even finish. I guess that would go with a slot machine analogy, wouldn't it? Sometimes you get cherries and sometimes you get lemons! The fist story, "Party Planner", by Meg Cabot was a win, cute tale told in e-mail about a young office staffer charged with planning their office party and, of course, everything goes wrong. "Changing People" by Sophie Kinsella was cute too. It yielded one of my favorite lines as a character posing as a designer says, "I'm a qualified specialist in mantelpiece adornment." The one by Jennifer Weiner was just okay for me probably because it was based on one of the characters in her book, Good in Bed, and I haven't read the book (yet). So, I pretty much liked the stories by the authors I knew and already liked, no new winners for me with this one.

This book counts for a few challenges...

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Wondrous Words Wednesday (lite)

2011-03-09T18:19:00.000-05:00

From Goodreads: Charlotte Brontë’s most beloved novel describes the passionate love between the courageous orphan Jane Eyre and the brilliant, brooding, and domineering Rochester. The loneliness and cruelty of Jane’s childhood strengthens her natural independence and spirit, which prove invaluable when she takes a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall. But after she falls in love with her sardonic employer, her discovery of his terrible secret forces her to make a heart-wrenching choice. Ever since its publication in 1847, Jane Eyre has enthralled every kind of reader, from the most critical and cultivated to the youngest and most unabashedly romantic. It lives as one of the great triumphs of storytelling and as a moving and unforgettable portrayal of a woman's quest for self-respect.

What a great story! It had all the elements - lovers, crazies, villains, interesting settings, and a couple of twisty turns in the plot. Some of the classics I read and think, "Why? Why is this book considered wonderful?" Usually it's because the language is so difficult for me that I have trouble understanding it enough to follow the plot. The language in this one was challenging too. But, I had a different experience in that reading on the iPad when I got to a word I didn't know I just hit dictionary and there was the definition. I hit the dictionary button A LOT! Here are some of the words I looked up in the first 20% of the book but it's Wondrous Words Wednesday lite because although I am discussing the challenging words there were too many to try to list their definitions!

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun by clicking on the logo to go to bermudaonions.

cavillers
promontories
torpid
lineaments
turbid
captious
opprobrium
vassalage
execrations
parterre
poltroon
pelisse
inanition
ewers
animadversions
assiduity
cumbrous
penurious
hebdomadal
moiety
perfidious
excrescence
phylactery

I read this book as part of the Jane Eyre challenge on Goodreads in anticipation of the movie coming out!

It also counts for some other challenges...

Mailbox Monday

2011-03-07T05:00:00.001-05:00

Mailbox Monday started by Marcia at The Printed Page is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). This month Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Laura at I'm Booking It. Stop by there to check out everyone else's mailboxes.
From Goodreads: We don't want to tell you what happens in this book. It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.
nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it, so we will just say this: This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice, the kind of choice we hope you never have to face. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there ... Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds. This one was on all the blogs last year and I kept waiting for a copy to fall in my lap and, voila, here it is, hooray!

From Goodreads: Sweetgrass is a historical tract of land in South Carolina that has been home to the Blakely family for eight generations. But Sweetgrass--named for the indigenous grass that grows in the area--is in trouble. Bulldozers are leveling surrounding properties. And the Blakelys could be forced to sell the one thing that continues to hold their disintegrating family together. For some of the Blakelys, the prospect of selling Sweetgrass is bittersweet--for others, it is completely unimaginable. But as they find the strength to stay and fight, they realize that their bond as a family is all they need to stay together.
Mary Alice Monroe is a local author that I keep hearng good things about but the only book of hers that I have read, Time Is A River, is the rare one set some place other than the Carolina Lowcountry. I found this one in a thrift shop and it's autographed - to someone else....but still, it's autographed!

From Goodreads: They were born on the same day, in the same small New Hampshire hospital, into families that could hardly have been less alike.

Ruth Plank is an artist and a romantic with a rich, passionate, imaginative life. The last of five girls born to a gentle, caring farmer and his stolid wife, she yearns to soar beyond the confines of the land that has been her family's birthright for generations.

Dana Dickerson is a scientist and realist whose faith is firmly planted in the natural world. Raised by a pair of capricious drifters who waste their lives on failed dreams, she longs for stability and rootedness.

Different in nearly every way, Ruth and Dana share a need to make sense of who they are and to find their places in a world in which neither has ever truly felt she belonged. They also share a love for Dana's wild and beautiful older brother, Ray, who will leave an indelible mark on both their hearts.

Told in the alternating voices of Ruth and Dana, The Good Daughters follows these "birthday sisters" as they make their way from the 1950s to the present. Master storyteller Joyce Maynard chronicles the unlikely ways the two women's lives parallel and intersect—from childhood and adolescence to first loves, first sex, marriage, and parenthood; from the deaths of parents to divorce, the loss of home, and the loss of a beloved partner—until past secrets and forgotten memories unexpectedly come to light, forcing them to reevaluate themselves and each other.

Moving from rural New Hampshire to a remote island in British Columbia to the '70s Boston art-school scene, The Good Daughters is an unforgettable story about the ties of home and family, the devastating force of love, the healing power of forgiveness, and the desire to know who we are.This was another one that was all over the blogs last year when it came out. I'm a year behind but still happy to read it now.

From Goodreads: Years of trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child have broken more than Angie DeSaria’s heart. Following a painful divorce, she moves back to her small Pacific Northwest hometown and takes over management of her family’s restaurant. In West End, where life rises and falls like the tides, Angie’s fortunes will drastically change yet again when she meets and befriends a troubled young woman.
Angie hires Lauren Ribido because she sees something special in the seventeen-year-old. They quickly form a deep bond, and when Lauren is abandoned by her mother, Angie offers the girl a place to stay. But nothing could have prepared Angie for the far-reaching repercussions of this act of kindness. Together, these two women—one who longs for a child and the other who longs for a mother’s love—will be tested in ways that neither could have imagined.I read Firefly Lane last year and enjoyed it very much so I couldn't resist another book by Kristin Hannah, this one sounds good too.