June reading

Books- June 2011
1. Christmas at the mysterious bookshop edited by Otto Penzler
2. Simply from scratch by Alicia Bessette
3. Murder on the rocks by Karen MacInerney
4. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
5. Then by Morris Gleitzman (young adult)
6. The widow's war by Sally Gunning
7. Nineteen minutes by Jodi Piccoult (audio book)
8. Empire of the summer moon: Quanah Parkee and the rise and fall of the Comanches the most powerful Indian tribe in American history by S. C. Gwynne
9. Dixie divas by Virginia Brown
10. Life is so good by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman
11. Crunch time by Diane Mott Davidson
12. Daniel Derondq by George Elliot

1. Short stories by mystery writers that were commissioned by Otto Penzler one each year for several years at Christmastime. Each story is set all or in part at the mysterious  book store.
2. A love story and a story of grief, explores issues of broken families and friends that become our family, I was comforted by this book.
3. Formulaic mystery set at a bed and breakfast on an island in Maine, fun to read, nothing special!
4. A complicated story of a man who has two families, each including a daughter of roughly the same age, one daughter knows about the other and one does not, told in the voices of each daughter. Very well done.
5. Very well done, story of Jewish children who are running from the Nazis. Heartbreaking, and hard to read.
6. A kindle special recommended by two friends, Libby is at the mercy of her parsimonious son-in-law when he husband drowns. She finds a way to make the law work in her favor so she can stay in her house.
7. Another timely novel by Piccoult, well-written, bur some of the plot elements, especially the end were a little shaky, much easier to listen to her books than to read them.
8. Quanah Parker's mother was a white woman who was captured by the Comanches when she was young and then married a chief, and had three children, Quanah became the first and only chief of the Comanche tribe. Great read about the end of the Comanche nation.
9. Another formulaic mystery with a little bit of romance thrown in. I would not read another one by this author.
10. This book blew me away. If you read one book from this list, this is the one to choose. Thanks to my friend Kathy for recommending this.
11. I love Davidson's stories of Goldy the caterer who is always finding dead bodies and getting into trouble. But, it does seem that maybe Goldy could leaner a lesson or two and not meddle quite so much!
12. Very long and written with an old world style that makes it hard to read, but filled with pithy statements about life, particularly women's place in the world. Worth the time and effort.

Summer Reading

I read The Widow's War by Sally Gunning because it was recommended by two different people. There were times when I was reading this that I wasn't so sure if I liked it; but in the end, I did think it was pretty good. I am not a big fan of historical fiction, so that may have been part of my hesitation, or maybe it is a little slow in the middle. The book is set in the 1700s, and is based on a woman's right to rule her own life and have control over property, which she did not have at that time in the newly forming United States. I am also in the process of reading Daniel Deronda, which is set in the 1800s in England, but is basically about the same topic. It seems, unfortunately, that we could write a similar book today, and perhaps that is what Allison Pearson did when she wrote I don't know how she does it, a satirical look at the impossibility of motherhood and full time employment. In this century, we are not so much constrained by law, as we are constrained by nature or cultural mores that say that the mother should carry the greater part of child care duties.
Thanks for recommending books, keep those recommendations coming!

Book Club

Only three people came to discuss our book: Simply from Scratch by Alicia Bessette and one of them did not like the book so much that she didn't finish reading it. The story is about a young widow who is still in deep grieving a year after her husband's accidental death. There are many characters in the book who are suffering from one form of grief or another and I thought the author did a good job of bringing these story lines together. However, E thought the story was too contrived and artificial. L and I agreed that it was an easy read and in spite of the heavy topic, the characters made it an enjoyable story. I think the thing I liked the best was the fact that it ended with hope, the main character, Zell, was able to finally see through her grief and begin to live her life again.

Names in literature

Do you ever notice that certain names will pop up in literature? Right now I am reading three books that all have a character named Gwen or Gwendolyn. I recently started to read Daniel Deronda by George Eliot and the main character is named Gwendolen. When I opened Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones, I was surprised to see that the mother of the main character is Gwendolyn. In a third book, Murder on the Rocks by Karen MacInerney, one of the minor characters is named Gwen. I have also noticed lately that Lily is a very popular name for females in fiction, and that Audrey is making a come-back. Haven't noticed too many characters named Wendy, although that name originally comes from a fictional character. What names are you noticing in your reading?

Reading recommendations

Thanks to friends, these books were recommended:
The Help: I read this last summer and would agree it was a great book with lots to discuss. Our book club might read this even though many of us have already read it.
The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks: We read this in book club and agree with the friend who recommended it. Very good writing and a great read.
The Widow's War: I think my sister also recommended this a few months ago, will try to find it at the library.
Life is so good by George Dawson: will check this one out as well.
Any other recommendations?

May 2011 book list

Books-May 2011
1. 13 little blue envelopes by Maureen Johnson
2. The puzzle lady vs. the sudoku lady by Parnell Hall
3. Grounded by Kate Klise
4. How to be an American housewife by Margaret Dilloway
5. The heart of memory by Alison Strobel
6. Shoe addicts anonymous by Beth Harbison
7. I'll walk alone by Mary Higgins Clark
8. This is your brain on music by Daniel Levitan
9. Declaring spinsterhood by Jamie Lynn Braziel
10. Two of the deadliest by Elizabeth George
11. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
12. All unquiet things by Anna Jarzab
13. Wicked prey by John Sandford (audio book)
14. Medical error by Richard Mabry, M.D.
15. The summer of hammers and angels by Shannon Wiersbitzky (SLJ review)
16. Russell's world by Charles Amenta III (SLJ review)
17. twelve rooms with a view by Theresa Rebeck
18. The ninth wife by Amy Stollis

1. A young adult novel about a girl whose aunt sends (from the grave) envelopes with directions to be followed; seemed fairly believable, except the girl was only 16 or 17 and traipsed all over the world by herself.
2. A silly mystery by Hall, he writes with a breezy style and his characters are somewhat contrived, but fairly amusing.
3. A wonderful tale for intermediate children, but why do so many authors for kids write about death?
4. Told in two voices, this looks at the difficult relationship between mothers and daughters particularly when they are not only struggling with a generation gap, but with a cultural gap as well, the mother was a Japanese war bride. Well told.
5. Savannah, a Christian motivational speaker, finds her faith in Christ has disappeared when she wakes up from a heart transplant. Interesting theme based on cellular memory.
6. Recommended by my sister, Katie, a little bit of a romance, along with the bonding of friendship around the love of shoes.
7. The latest Clark mystery, I’d say she is getting better again, it helps when she stays away from paranormal themes.
8. Maybe the hardest book I read this month. A little deep and I didn’t really need all the technical mumbo-jumbo, but came away with some new understanding of music. I liked learning about the way notes are measured and the distance on the sound meters between notes.
9. A quick read, free on Kindle. Of course, she falls in love with the guy next door and tries to eschew romance. Cute and perky.
10. Short stories by female mystery writers, runs the gamut from serious, gruesome to silly and nonsensical. All based on lust or greed.
11. Our book club choice of the month, very heavy reading. Hard to reconcile how we choose to treat other human beings. Written about females slaves in the 1850s, the reader knows they will be free in a few years, but the characters do not know this.
12. Nick’s girlfriend was killed, after a year, he and her cousin try to discover who the killer was. A surprise ending that was foreshadowed slightly. Well-done young adult novel.
13. The only way to go with John Sandford. Lots of plot lines, numerous characters, but a fun way to pass the time when in the car or working around the house.
14. Thumbs down on this one, billed as a medical mystery, the characters are not well developed and too much time is taken up with medical details. Who cares if the author is a medical doctor and knows all the right terms?
15. A story for intermediate readers about a young girl who overcomes the adversity of poverty to help her mother save their home. Lots of heart, predictable characters, okay story.
16. A picture book for kids about a boy who is autistic. Good book for siblings of an autistic child.
17. Maybe my favorite of the month. Well told, sassy voice, and characters that you have to like or hate.
18. Bess is a great character, 35, successful professionally, but still looking for love. She finally finds it only to learn that her beloved has been married 8 times. Will she dare to become the 9th? Love it!

Short Stories

Combining two favorite genres, mystery and short stories, I thought Two of the Deadliest compiled by Elizabeth George would be an easy favorite. But, it was just okay. The stories ran the gamut from humorous to quirky to deadly serious, but they just did not pull me in like I wanted them to.
On the other hand, I read Mary Higgins Clark's latest novel: I'll Walk Alone and found it to be back up to her previous standard. Clark is a master at the personal touch in a mystery, along with a touch of romance, giving a little bit of panic to boost the adrenaline. Lately, she has been throwing in too much of the paranormal and her plots have been quite thin. But, in this, she does a superb job of developing the red herring and her main character is likable, lovable and gorgeous to boot!