The Gift of Christmas Present by Melody Carlson

December is almost over and when it has ended my burning desire to read "Christmas" will ebb away until next year. So this is the last Christmas blog of the season! Christine Bradley grew up in a loving family. When her mother died her father decided she needed to know something - she had been adopted. Christine is in college and living in the dorm. Her father has left to do missionary work. Although her birth mother is dead, Christine decides to meet her maternal grandmother who lives in the town where Christine attends college. Mrs. Daniels (granny!) has recently had a fall and badly sprained her ankle. When Christine shows up at the door, Mrs. Daniels thinks she is the helper sent over by an agency. Taken back by the gruffness of the old lady, Christine finds herself with a job for Christmas vacation. She doesn't have the nerve to tell Mrs. Daniels who she is and prepares herself to do a lot of hard work for a woman who is not very appreciative. It's a Christmas book - I'm sure you know where this story will end. I did love the journey to the end of the story.
So enough of good will on earth, etc. I think it's time for a good murder mystery!

In Their Blood by Sharon Potts

Jeremy hasn't fit in with his father's desires. He was pursuing a degree in accounting like his mother, but he dropped out and went to Europe. His parents, Rachel and Daniel, came to Portugal with Jeremy's younger sister Elise to "talk some sense into him". He is not going to come home. But things change and he does come home. The night his family returned home from Europe his parents were murdered in their home. His sister had sneaked out to see her boyfriend and escaped the carnage. Can Jeremy become a responsible person and take care of his sister? Why were his parents murdered? He decides to do some investigating on his own. This is a first novel by Potts and I liked it a lot. The plot was intriguing and the characters were flawed - just the way I like them!

The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans

I am a big fan of Richard Paul Evans. At Christmas time when I am in the mood for a sweet, sappy book I head straight for his book. This one lived up to my expectations. It's a modern day Scrooge story. James Kier is a very rich real estate developer who left his wife (who is now fighting cancer.) and is enjoying an affair with a younger woman. He is off to meet his lover for a weekend tryst when a series of events leads to him looking at his obituary in the paper. He also has the chance to read what people are saying about him - and it isn't pretty! The title of the book refers to a list of people whom he has wronged over the years. It isn't easy to make restitution as James finds out. A great holiday read.

Cherries in Winter by Suzan Colon 394.1 Col

The rest of the title of this book is ' My Family's Recipe For Hope in Hard Times'. What originally attracted me to the book was the cover. When I read the blurb I was hooked. Colon worked for a magazine in New York City. It was the best of times. She gave little thought to the expensive bottled water she drank, the eyebrow-tweezing (I think she paid about $40 for that every three weeks), the hair stylist who billed $300 a cut(-but Colon got a discount) or the massages she got on a regular basis. Then 2008 sent the world into a spin and Colon was unemployed. Now everything she looked at was with different eyes. Things now were equal to a week's worth of groceries instead of a price that meant little to her.
To get through this tough time, she looked to her family. She starts looking through the recipes of her Nana for ideas of inexpensive but hearty food. Along with the recipes she learns a lot about how her family and gotten through the Depression and other times which were hard.
I really liked the book. I believe there are lessons and reminders for everyone in this book. I highly recommend it!

Crewel Yule by Monica Ferris

I always love to read Christmasy books during the season. So when I was checking in books and saw this title I decided to take it home. It was a quick read. I refer to this kind of book as "light murder mysteries". The characters are always more interesting that the plot. This murder takes place in Nashville at a needlework convention. Ferris uses the real names of companies (which I recognized right away) and even Frank (a designer on Trading Spaces, he also has a needlework design company) made an appearance! Great fun to read. Now I have her book Knitting Bones on my stack of books to be read.

Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Patillo

Dumped by her husband (after finding him in the midst of an affair with her teaching assistant - on their kitchen table no less) and her teaching career ruined, Emma Grant escapes to London in pursuit of long-lost letters from Jane Austen. Emma blames Austen for the way her life has turned out, for promising her a happy ending and then not delivering. Not a good position for a renowned Austen scholar to be in. While in England, Emma visits many of the places that Jane Austen lived and finds herself considering both Jane's life and her own.

Not too surprisingly, this is a quick read. The explanations of Jane Austen's life and the descriptions of the places she lived in England made me want to make my own pilgrimage! Emma grows and matures during the course of the novel. Does she find true love? You'll have to read it and find out!

The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline

This was an enjoyable book to read. At first I thought it was going to be too predictable - but there were a few twists in it - besides, it was well-written. It is the story of Angela who is in her thirties and working at a job that she doesn't love. While on the computer one day she clicks on a dating website. "MaineCatch" seemed perfect - except for the fact that she was from New York and he obviously lived in Maine. He eventually sweeps her off feet. When she loses her job (after committing a big mistake), she decides to throw caution to the wind and go to her soulmate. I liked the characters and the story.

Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs

This is the third in a series. (Friday Night Knitting Club and Knit Two). I would highly recommend that these be read in order. During the first book Dakota was just a young girl who hung around the knitters and baked muffins for them. Now she is grown and trying to be a responsible woman. She is one busy chic! She's keeping the knitting store open while attending culinary school. She still has time to keep up with the other members of the original group. I loved knowing how their lives were progressing! One of the book clubs read the original (Friday Night Knitting Club) for November. I thought it was interesting that a third of the women there said they were inspired to start or return to a knitting/crocheting project. So I guess that it should be considered an inspirational book! I hope that there is a number 4 coming next year.

A Quilter's Holiday by Jennifer Chiaverini

This is a quick read about the quilters of Elm Creek. I have read all of this series and they are all interesting and enjoyable. This one was perfectly timed. I read it over Thanksgiving weekend and it mostly takes place on the day after Thanksgiving. That is the day which one of the quilters refers to as the official beginning of quilt season! At Elm Creek the friends ignore Black Friday and instead gather to quilt. Most are working on Christmas presents. At noon they stop for a potluck lunch - the rule is that it has to be a leftover from Thanksgiving. During the day there are updates on on-going stories from previous books and also flashbacks to past holidays. A nice gentle read!

Family Album by Penelope Lively

I really liked this book. It is not a book filled with adventure or lots of action. Instead it is more of a study in family life. At the beginning of the book there are six grown-up children who were raised by Allison, her husband Charles and the au pair, Ingrid, who stayed forever. Allison never wanted anything else in life except for a family. She tried to be the uber mother and wife. As the book progresses we learn the stories of the family from different perspectives. Everyone is affected (either in a good way or a bad way) by childhood. It is a lot more fun to read about someone else's family!

Ladies of the Lake by Haywood Smith

The library owns the book and the audiobook. I listened and it was great. I have never read anything by Haywood Smith but I will go look for more of them. It is the story of four sisters: Dahlia, Rose, Violet and Iris (who is scared to death of spiders - just like me!). They are around my age (read the book if you want to find out). Their grandma, Cissy, dies. Cissy has been a bit strange for a long time. Last thing the sisters knew was that Cissy was going to leave whatever she had to some religious group she had become interested in. When Cissy dies the sisters go up to the lake to meet with the lawyer. Much to their great surprise Cissy had recently changed her will - AND she was really, really rich! Much to their chagrin Cissy has put in a stipulation. To get the money the four sisters must spend the summer together at the lake. They haven't been in that close proximity to each other in decades, so there are bound to be a few problems. I enjoyed the characters and the story - there are dead bodies in the basement, a rabid raccoon, skinny dipping......... and so on. An enjoyable read.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Another book set in Iowa! This one takes place in the fictional Willow Creek, Iowa. It's located near a forest - do we have a forest in Iowa??? That aside, it was a great book. It seems that every night on the news is a story about another manhunt for missing children. This is about that topic - but with enough twists to keep me turning the pages. Missing are two best friends. Calli is 7 years old and hasn't spoken a word in three years after witnessing a disturbing event. One morning her drunken father, Griff, is up early to go fishing with his friend. Instead he comes across Calli and decides to take her into the forest. He sends his friend on his way and leaves no note for Calli's mom. The same early morning Calli's best friend Petra also goes missing. There are many side- stories going on at the same time. (Calli's mom and the sheriff used to be in love.)
I thought it was great for a debut novel - and I look forward to many others.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

Another WWII novel dealing with the Holocaust. But this one is quite different from the others I've read in the past year. Although fiction, the story is based on an incident in Paris, 1942. Thousands of Jewish families were arrested. Before they were to be transported to the concentration camps, they were temporarily housed in the Velodrome d'Hiver -a sports facility. The conditions that were described reminded me a lot of what I saw and read about the SuperDome during Katrina. The title character Sarah was 10 years old when this happened. She had been living happily with her 4 year-old brother Michel and her parents. Her father has been hiding in the basement of the building in which they live because the word on the street is that only men are being rounded up. This is the subject of half of the book. The other half is about 40-something Julia. American by birth, Julia has lived in Paris since she was 20. She's married to a Frenchman and they have one precocious 11-year-old daughter. Julia works part-time for an American magazine in Paris. Her editor suggests a story about the Velodrome d'Hiver roundup because the 60th anniversary is approaching. Of course this leads to a connection between Julia and Sarah. It was a fascinating read. I couldn't quit reading it. Highly recommended!!!!!!!!!

Postville A Clash of Cultures in Hearland American by Stephen Bloom

This is not a new book. It was published in 2000. I read it because I was in charge of the morning Book Club this month. I am blogging about it because it was a really good book! You will recognize names in the book if you have been reading the Des Moines Register lately. Postville has been getting a lot of press. Anyway - on to the book itself. Bloom ended up moving to Iowa City from California along with his wife and son. They are Jewish - though at polar opposites from the Hasidims of Postville. Bloom felt isolated from the Jewish community living in Iowa, so at first he just wanted to re-connect. He ended up writing a fascinating book about the clash of two cultures in small-town Iowa. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants more information about the story in the headlines.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

This is a first novel for Goolrick and I hope that many more will follow. This book takes place in the early part of the twentieth century. Ralph Truitt lives in very cold and snowy Wisconsin. He has lived a very lonely life for 20 years. He places a classified ad for a reliable wife. He waits at the train station for the woman he hopes will satisfy his needs. The woman who steps off the train is not the woman in the picture. She has a cover story for that - in fact she has lots of things planned out - that is why she is carrying arsenic in her bag. It's an intriguing story and different from the run-of-the-mill mail-order bride stories! I really enjoyed it.

Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon

"Echo in the Bone", also referred to as EITB or just "Echo", is the seventh book in the author's Outlander series. I have waited anxiously for its publication since the sixth book was published in 2005. I wasn't going to read this book for at least a year but it seemed that everyone I knew was reading it. I couldn't stand it any longer...so I dove in.

For those not familiar with the series, it revolves around the adventures of Claire, a time traveler from the 20th century, and Jamie, the Scottish warrior from the 18th century that she falls in love with after traveling into the past through a circle of standing stones.

See? You just have to read them and then suspend your disbelief!

This novel is no different from the others. It's full of adventures and romance and near misses and plenty of loose threads that won't be resolve until the next novel in the series. I'm left to wonder how everything will be resolved - and hoping that I'll remember the questions I had!

No Time to Wave Goodbye by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Back in the 90's Ms. Mitchard came out with her first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean. It was the story of Beth Cappadora whose 3 year old son Ben is snatched. It was an emotional and touching story. I would suggest you read that book before her newest book. In the new book we return to the Cappadora family. It is twenty-two years later and we find out what has happened with the family and friends. Of course there is a new catastrophe in this book. It was great to return to the characters I met years ago. Can there ever be a happily-ever-after when a family has faced a tragedy?

Riverside Park by Laura Van Wormer

Riverside Park is an address and this book is about the people who live there. Some of their lives intersect. Some are married, some are single and some are messing around! Van Wormer did a great job of interweaving the stories and characters. There is nothing in the book that made me think or stuck with me. That said I really did enjoy reading the book. I was entertained and that's what I wanted at the time!

A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

I have ready all of Shreve's novels and have loved every one of them. She never uses a formula in her writing. Every book is totally different. In this book we follow a few years in the life of Margaret and Patrick. They have only been married for a few months when they take advantage of a chance to go to Kenya so that Patrick can practice equatorial medicine. There are some adjustments to the culture but mostly things are going well. Then a British couple invites then to climb Mount Kenya. Now keep in mind that these people are not climbers but they still say yes. During the climb there is a tragic accident and someone dies. The rest of the story is about how that incident on the mountain affects their lives and their marriage. I loved it.

Sometimes Mine by Martha Moody

This was a little different take on an old theme. Genie is a 40 something cardiologist with an ex-husband and a daughter. She is having an affair with married Mick who is a winning basketball coach. They have been meeting on Thursday nights for eleven years. They make vague plans for 'someday' when they will be together. After all these years of a nice rhythm, everything seems to fall apart at once. Genie's daughter is involved with a man that Genie feels uncomfortable about, Mick's daughter is in need of a cardiologist and then Mick gets sick. That's enough to tell you. I enjoyed reading the book. The characters were well-done and so likable that it is hard to be mad at Mick and Genie for having the affair.

Homer & Langley by E. L. Doctorow

Hoarding is a popular subject now. A & E channel is running a weekly show on them, Oprah has devoted shows to the subject, and I've seen a few specials on tv. Hoarding is not a new phenomenon. The most famous case is that of Homer and Langley Collyer. These two brothers died in their home filled with 130 tons of stuff. After the first brother was found, it took authorities days to get through the rubble and find his brother. No one knows the story of how this happened or why. Doctorow took on the daunting assignment of fitting his story into the facts. The result is a fascinating and believable story. When you are done reading the book you will want to take some time to clean out that closet!

A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias

Although this is fiction, it seems that the author's bio reads very much like the book. Maybe that is why it seemed so real and believable. Enrique and Margaret have been married 30 years and now Margaret is facing death after a long battle against cancer. The book goes back and forth between their first meeting and subsequent courtship and the last weeks of Margaret's life. It is certainly not a happy book - I would suggest kleenex be close at hand. It was well-written and I think the ending was very believable - thus the Kleenex! I found Margaret's decisions to be very thought-provoking. - thus the Kleenex.

While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty

We all have periods in our lives when everything seems to be going wrong. The main character Veronica, however, has it worse than normal. The first thing to go wrong is her parents' divorce, You would think she could get through that - after all she is a junior in college, studying hard to keep up with her grueling schedule and still finding sometime for her boyfriend. When Veronica gets herself into a mess (which didn't start out as her fault) she calls her mom for help. Unfortunately her mom seems too busy with her own life to help - at least at first. Great characters and an interesting story line. Loved it!

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear

This is one of a series of books starring Maisie Dobbs. Maisie is a young, independent private investigator. What is amazing is that this takes place in the 1930's. In this book Maisie is investigating the death of a man who was the twin brother of one of Maisie's friends from college. These books are in the style of Agatha Christie. No CSI, no DNA no cell phones, no videos - well, you get the picture! She has to use her intuition and her brain. That is the fun part. Winspear also does a wonderful job of describing the era in terms of the cultural, social and political atmosphere of the decade.

After You by Julie Buxbaum

I loved this book. The main character is Ellie who is married to the love of her life - except things haven't been good since they lost their baby. Ellie's best friend since grade school is Lucy. Lucy lives in England with her husband Greg and their enchanting daughter Sophie. As the book opens Ellie is in England because Lucy has been murdered in front of her daughter. Ellie feels she needs to do whatever she can to help Sophie (and herself) deal with the tragedy. As in all relationships there are secrets that have been hidden. A well-written book with characters that I cared about.

Mindless Eating :Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink 613.25 Wan

I mostly skimmed this book but it was interesting. Most of us are familiar with the term "mindless eating" but Wansink explains why it happens. There were lots of experiments done which showed how we fall into that trap. One of the most interesting aspects was the part about our expectations. He tells a story of a navy cook during WWII. The only Jello he had to serve the men was lemon - and after a while there were many complaints. They wanted strawberry for a change. So one day the cook put some red food dye into the yellow jello and the troops were happy to have strawberry jello again! Put a cheap wine into an expensive bottle and people treat it with greater respect. Mostly this book points out how stupid we are and how easily we can be manipulated. Very entertaining.

The Letter by Richard Paul Evans

This book was published in 1997. I just came upon the audio book. I knew I was in a for a nice overly-sweet read - but sometimes that is just the thing I need. This was the third book in the Christmas Box Trilogy by Evans. The other two were made into movies - either for Lifetime or Hallmark - but you get the picture! This part of the puzzle takes place twenty years after the death of David and MaryAnne's daughter Andrea. An old woman leaves a note and a rose at the grave of Andrea. There are other notes or letters in the book with significance also. It is a gentle, easy read for someone with a sweet tooth - like me!

Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

Sydney is a teenager who is spending the summer with her father, Tim. Tim sells cars, has a rather strange girlfriend and an ex-wife who is living with her new boyfriend. Tim and Sydney don't always see eye-to-eye and one morning they get into an argument before they went off to their respective jobs. Sydney never comes home. In fact, the place where she was supposedly working, has never heard of her. Thus begins the mystery. What happened to Sydney and why. Tim does what he can, working with the police, Sydney's friend Patty and his ex-wife. The story was intriguing enough but I wasn't crazy about any of the characters. Still it was a good book - just not great in my humble opinion!

Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure by Matthew Algeo

In 1953, just a few months removed from the presidency, Harry and Bess Truman set off from their home in Independence, MO, to points east. Naively hoping to remain incognito and without any kind of security, they traveled to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, PA (where Truman gave his first post-office speech), and New York City to visit daughter Margaret. They ate in diners, stayed in motels and with friends, and were recognized everywhere they went.

This book was fun to read. Interspersed among the details of the trip, the author includes details that make both Harry and Bess real and intensely likable. It wasn't necessarily light and breezy but I passed the time with the Trumans quickly and in good time - and enjoyed every mile of the trip.

Survival of the Sickest by Sharon Moalem

We own this book but I listened to it while I did yard work. It wasn't the most captivating book I've ever read, but it was interesting. The idea of evolution was told through the eyes of germs and all sorts of little animals and plants! There is an explanation for why diabetes was important at one point of history. I don't remember the specifics of what I read, but I was fascinated by it at the time. Definitely not a "beach read", but a nice book for a change of pace.

Driftwood Summer by Patti Callahan Henry

Two good books in a row! Another book about relationships and family. Riley is a single mother trying to earn her living by running the bookstore she and her mother, Kitsy, had started 12 years ago. The store is in financial trouble and they are hoping that a big celebration of the cottage's 200th birthday will turn the tide. When Kitsy has a bad fall, Riley calls on her sisters to come home and help. Maisy is guilted into coming back from California where she is a designer. Maisy has had very little to do with the family since she took off after highschool. Adalee is the youngest. She is in college and is very irritated that she is expected to come home and work instead of enjoying her summer with her boyfriend. There are lots of resentments and secrets that have been buried for a long time - and now they are going to come out. I loved the characters and the way the book was written. No sex or violence - she depends on the characters to keep your interest!

Bird in Hand by Christina Baker Kline

I started reading this book yesterday and I finished it this morning. Yes it was good and read quickly! The story begins with a tragic accident in which a young boy is killed. It wasn't Alison's fault - although she had been drinking. It devastates her and affects her marriage to Charlie. At least that's what she thinks - actually there is a little bit more going on. And it's going on with Alison's best friend, Claire. Claire's husband, Ben, is totally unaware although he knows their marriage is a bit wobbly. This is a book about relationships - between spouses and between friends. Very well written. We have some other books by Kline in the library - I will definitely be checking those out too.

24 Hours by Greg Iles

This book is also an old (that being relative!) book that I found while browsing the Wilbor site. The title refers to the amount of time there is between the kidnapping of a child and the child's safe return to his or her parents. The kidnappers have a great system going and it's been successful f times. When a doctor is away at a convention, two members of the team (Joe and Huey) kidnap the child from the home. Huey ( the large and mentally slow member of the team) takes the child away to a secret location. There he tries to keep the child as happy as he can under the circumstances. As soon as the child is gone Joe approaches the mother and tells her what has happened. Joe has found that he doesn't need to keep his face covered or use a fake name - all he has to do is tell the mother that the kidnapping is all about money and when he receives his money the child will be returned unharmed the next day. And that's all there is to it - oh yeah, there is that part about coming back and killing the child if the parents go to the authorities. Joe's wife Cheryl is the third member of the team. She approaches the father and tells him what is going on. In twenty-four hours Joe makes enough money to live on for the next year.
The reason the book exists is that things don't go as planned this time! This book has characters that I loved, vilains to hate and lots of twists and turns along the way. I enjoyed it very much.

Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder

This book is a few years old, but I saw it on Wilbor (audiobook site) and decided it sounded good. And it was! The plot itself has been used before and I wasn't surprised at the ending. However, it was well written (and read!) and kept my interest throughout. Jason is a salesman for the Entronics company. He is happily married and they are expecting their first child. One day Jason has a car accident. The tow-truck driver is Kurt, a former Special Forces soldier, who is towing for a friend's company. Kurt and Jason end up forming a friendship which eventually leads to Kurt getting a job at Jason's company. Suddenly things start going really well for Jason at work. Seems he has sold his soul and doesn't even know it! A good suspense novel without the gore!

A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick

This is a follow-up book to A Single Thread that I read last year. The same characters are still there and some new ones have been added. In the last book the quilting women rallied around Evelyn and her battle with a new business plus breast cancer. In this book the new woman is Ivy. She has escaped an abusive husband and is trying to hide herself and her two children. Ivy is sure that she won't be able to stay in New Bern for long and tries to keep herself as isolated as possible. Of course that isn't possible with the quilting women! This book is very predictable - but I knew that before I started reading! It was a life-affirming gentle read about the value of friendships.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Connie Goodwin is supposed to spend her summer doing research for her dissertation...until her mother calls and asks her to take care of the sale of her grandmother's home in Salem, MA. On her first night there, Connie discovers evidence of a book of recipes left by a woman named Deliverance Dane. She launches on a quest to find this book and more information about the author. Moving back and forth between the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690s and the modern (well, 1991) day, this book provides a fascinating look at how we view "different" people. I liked it!

Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon

This book was a little different from most and a fascinating read. In college, Henry, Tess, Winnie and Suz formed a group called the Compassionate Dismantlers. They had a manifesto and everything! The idea was to take things apart in order to understand them. They did a number of fairly destructive things. After college the four spent time in a remote cabin where they plotted their future of destruction. When Suz dies everything changes quickly. The others cover up her death and try to go on to normal lives. Henry and Tess get married and have a daughter. Ten years later they are still together but Henry is living in the barn while Tess and Emma (the daughter) stay in the house. In an attempt to reconcile her parents, Emma sets off events that end in tragedy for a victim of the Dismantlers pranks. Soon Henry and Tess are living in fear that the past will be revealed and that they will both go to prison. Fascinating read. Loved it!

Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan

Sullivan is a professional writer but this is a first novel for her - and I hope it isn't the last! I loved reading this book. It is the story of Celia, Bree, Sally and April. They are a diverse group who are freshman at Smith College. The novel begins with Celia the morning after a one-night stand. She needs to get herself together and catch a bus to return to Smith for the wedding of Sally. On the bus she closes her eyes.....and we all travel back eight years to the first day of college. The backgrounds of the girls is seamlessly woven into the antics and anguish of college. In the second half of the book we are back to the present day and we find out where the girls, now women, have ended up. Well-written and interesting!

Three Weeks to Say Goodbye by C.J. Box

The title of the book refers to the amount of time Jack and Melissa have to find a way to keep the baby that they adopted. Angelina is a beautiful, good baby. Through a slip-up, Angelina's birth father (Garrett) never signed the paper giving up his parental rights. Now Garrett's father wants him to face up to his responsibility and take the baby back. The father happens to be a judge with a lot of influence. There are twists and turns that make the book interesting. The book is divided into sections with the titles of "x days to go". It was a quick read and I enjoyed it.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

I enjoyed this book very much. The title refers to the name a woman gave to her group of four couples who live on the island of Nantucket. The book opens with the drowning deaths of one of the couples. During the rest of the book we find out what the relationships are (and were) between the eight people. I liked the way Hilderbrand peeled away the layers of the story. As with most books and with all people - everyone has a secret or two hidden away! There is also the mystery of the drownings - was it intentional or an accident?

Come Sunday by Isla Morley

Married to a minister and living in Hawaii, Abbe has managed to put her childhood in South Africa behind her. Until, that is, her 3-year-old daughter is struck by a car and killed. With her world in shatters around her, Abbe questions her faith, her marriage, and those childhood memories. Not until she returns to South Africa is she able to move forward with her life.

I had to force myself to read this book. It came highly recommended but it was still difficult to pick up a book when I knew going into it that a child dies. Abbe's grief and inability to move on with her life is clearly and heartbreakingly described. At times I wanted to shake her and tell her to just get over it - and at others I was right there with her in her despair. Scenes from her childhood are interspersed with her present day life and I found the insight into pre-apartheid South Africa to be very interesting.

Not an easy read but one I ultimately enjoyed.

Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

I listened to the audiobook of Sworn to Silence and I enjoyed it a lot. It was fast-paced and semi-suspenseful. I believe this might be the first in a series featuring Kate Burkholder. Kate was raised in an Amish home and led an unremarkable life until she was 14. She was attacked and raped. She managed to shoot the man with her father's gun. Her father and brother dragged the body away in a wagon. Along with the body, her father buried the secret. It was never talked about or shared with anyone. Today she is chief of police in the same small town in Ohio. Murders that had rocked the town years ago suddenly stopped when Kate's attacker was killed. Now murders have begun that appear to be done by the same man. Is it possible that Kate's attacker really didn't die????? I enjoyed the story and the characters. There are a few places that are a bit graphic, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this book!

Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber

This is the fifth in the Blossom Street series. I remember reading that Macomber didn't plan for this to be a series but continued it after the readers clamored for more! I have enjoyed all of the books. She continues the stories from book to book. I like that idea except it takes me a while to remember the previous stories of all the characters. This time the story is centered around a new class that Lydia is teaching - "Knit to Quit". It is for people who are quitting a bad habit or are wanting to quit a bad relationship. As you can imagine, everyone has a problem but their friends help them through. No big suprises. Just a nice gentle read.

The Way We Were by Marcia Willett

Willett writes very much like Rosamund Pilcher and Maeve Binchy. I usually enjoy the characters and have a strong craving for a cup of tea while I read! This story moves back and forth between the 1970's and 2004. It involves a young pregnant Tiggy (that's not a thing - that's her name!) whose fiance has died. She travels to stay with her best friend Julia (who has a husband and children). Things don't go smoothly and when the story is in the present we are teased with all sorts of secrets that go back to the '70's. It's an easy read, it's about friends and it takes place on the Cornwall moors - those are three good reasons to read it!

The Mystery of Grace by Charles de Lint

Grace's life isn't all that it use to be. After her grandfather dies, she mopes around and refuses to go out and participate in life. The only thing that soothes her is working on old cars. Then fate intervenes, and she's shot while out buying cigarettes.

John's been leading no life at all. He works, he draws, and he sometimes hangs out with his friends. The Halloween Nina convinces him to go out changes his entire life. Because he meets Grace.

John and Grace meet that Halloween night. The problem? Grace isn't alive anymore. And as she struggles to find out why she's in limbo, John discovers a life he's never dreamed of living.

An interesting book told in alternative points of view. Grace's story is the main one here, and becomes the focus more as the story goes on. Highly entertaining read!

The Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips

This novel actually tells two stories - one set in the modern day and the other set during the reign of Charles II of England.

Hannah Devlin, a female doctor in 1672, is called to court to treat one of the mistresses of Charles II. Reluctantly, she gets involved in court intrigue and the mysterious murders of two courtiers. Could their deaths be related to the death of her own father a year previous? And is the murderer the intriguing Ralph Montagu or another doctor, Edward Strathern?

In the modern day, newly minted PhD Claire Donovan is teaching at Cambridge University. She and another Cambridge professor (both characters were introduced in The Rossetti Letter) become caught up in their research of the Devlin diary - and its relationship to the death of yet another Cambridge professor.

The author tells both stories in alternating chapters. Sometimes I wanted to skip ahead and find out what was going to happen! I learned a lot about Cambridge and also about the reign of Charles II, both subjects of interest to me. A quick read and very entertaining.

The Wildwater Walking Club by Claire Cook

Noreen (I'd rather be called "Nora") takes a buyout and loses her boyfriend in the same day. After years of working, she isn't sure what to do with the rest of her life or even the next day. So she puts on her tennis shoes and starts walking. She's soon joined by her neighbors, Tess and Rosie. As they walk together, they become friends.

It seems a simple enough plot but I enjoyed reading about women who are roughly my age, with problems and pasts that I could relate to. As they walk, the three women deal with job issues, children issues, and family issues. It was light, fun reading and my time with the Wildwater Walking Club zipped by. I almost started walking myself!

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

I think Lisa See is a wonderful writer. This is the third book of hers that I have read and they have all been fascinating. Her books allow a look into a culture that is foreign (no pun intended) to most of us. In this newest book the story begins in Shanghai (probably no surprise if you paid attention to the title!) in 1937. We follow the stories of two sisters, Pearl and May. They were brought up in a financially well-off home and led rather modern lives. Then one day their father announces that he is in debt and needs to sell them off to repay the money. The have the ceremony and then the "husbands" leave to go back to California and the sisters are to follow. Before that happens war breaks out. We follow them through the unrest in their country and to this country where the welcome isn't very warm. This book has great, interesting detail about that time in history - and we can always relate history to something that is going on now!
We have the book and also the audiobook. I listened to it and the narration was great. Highly recommended!

Sail by James Patterson

I don't always care for the books that Patterson only co-authors, but I did enjoy this one. Katherine Dunne is a hard-working doctor with three kids. Four years ago her husband died in an accident and her family life began to fall apart. She meets and marries Peter - the perfect man. Or is he???? It isn't explained how Katherine found the time to have this courtship but yet not the time to connect to her children - oh well, that is a small detail. To get the family "back together", she sets up a sailing trip with her children and her brother-in-law, Jake. Peter has a trial (he's the lawyer - not the defendant), so he's staying home. Mishaps, drama, suspense and more are found in this book. I enjoyed listening to it.

The Late, Lamented Molly Marx by Sally Koslow

Newly arrived in the Duration (translation - the hereafter), Molly Marx is delighted to find out that she can still keep track of her friends and relatives left behind on earth - and follow the investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death at the age of 35. Was it an accident, a suicide, or murder?

As the police investigate, Molly watches over her young daughter and realizes how important being a mother was to her. She follows her husband and relives her troubled marriage. And just how did her attraction to an irresistible colleague fit into her life...and death?

This book was, surprisingly, humorous and an easy read. I liked the characters and mourned Molly's early death. I never really understood why she was so intent on staying in her marriage but then who am I to judge someone else's decisions? All in all, a quick read with likable characters.

Home Repair by Liz Rosenberg

Ms. Rosenberg has written award-winning books for younger readers, but this is her first adult book. I loved it. It is well-written, kept my interest and has believable characters that I cared about. It is the story of Eve. She was happily married to Ivan and they had one son, Marcus. Then 13 years ago Ivan was killed in a car crash. Eve remarried (Chuck) and they had their daughter Noni. Then in the middle of a garage sale Chuck leaves - really leaves. Eve's mom has been visiting and she stays on to help out. There are many scenes that I could relate to and was impressed at how true-to-life they were. The garage sale is one. Ms. Rosenberg has obviously done garage sales before! I enjoyed the book a lot!

Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark

This is vintage Mary Higgins Clark. There's a murder and a suspect and I think I know who did it but you know there is always some kind of twist. There are actually two story lines. One is the murder of actress Natalie Raines. Her soon-to-be ex-husband (and agent) is arrested and is brought to trial. The prosecutor is Emily Wallace. She is a young widow with a dog given to her by her father. She happens to be living next to a serial killer (from Iowa, no less - where did Clark get that idea????). Oh yeah, there is also a heart involved! Easy, entertaining read by one of the most consistent authors.

Hello goodbye by Emily Chenoweth

This is a beautifully written book. Helen Hansen is an active woman with a job, a husband and a daughter, Abby, who is a freshman in college. After her usual long run she begins to make coffee trying to ignore the headache that is overtaking her. The next thing she remembers is waking up in the hospital. She is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. This is in the winter. Then the story jumps to summer. Elliott, Helen's husband, has planned a week in New England to celebrate their 20th anniversary. He really can't afford it, but this will give their friends they left behind in New England a chance to come and see Helen. Other than a brief introduction of the background, the whole story takes place during that week. It is a touching story about a dying woman, her friends, her husband and her daughter.

The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini

Another novel in the Elm Creek Quilt series. As always, Chiaverini writes an interesting, easy-to-read book. Sylvia Compson comes upon some old letters in a bureau in the attic. They were written by Joanna. Joanna was introduced in the book The Runaway Quilt. She was a runaway slave and (of course!) a quilter. She had come to Elm Creek Farm through the Underground Railroad with the help of symbols and messages that were embroidered in quilts. The letters take us back to the 1860's and we find out what happened to Joanna. An interesting look back into a time of slavery. And as always there are lots of interesting things about quilting. I'm sure I didn't need to blog this because all of her fans already have this book on their lists of things to read. If you have never read any of this series and you like a 'gentle read', give it a try.

A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal 940.53.Bue

I know - another Holocaust book. This one is a little different from the others. Buergenthal waited a very long time to commit his story to paper. It seemed to me that it was written more dispassionately than the other books. I didn't feel nearly the emotion that I usually do.
One day Thomas' mother, Gerda, went to a fortune-teller with a girlfriend. She took off her wedding ring before going in. Although 27 at the time, Gerda looked much younger than that and was surprised when the fortune-teller studied the cards and said that she was married and had one child. Then she proclaimed that the child was "ein Glueckskind" - a lucky child. She also said that he would survive the future that was coming. Indeed he seems to have been lucky at many times during the war. One of the different twists of this book is the last part of the book where he recounts the story of liberation and the long journey to be reunited with his mother.
Well worth the read.

Clara's War by Clara Kramer 940.53 Kra

There seems to be many books about the Holocaust coming out this year. Although I don't seek them out, I usually check them out when I see them. I somehow need to read and reread to try and understand how some people could be so cruel, some so resilient and some so brave. Like Anne Frank, Clara wrote a diary. Fortunately Clara was one of about sixty Jews (out of 5,000) who survived the war in Zolkiew, Poland. At the age of 15 she went into hiding with her family and two other families. They were hidden in a bunker they build under a house. There they remained for 20 months. She does a wonderful job of describing not only the stress of those underground, but also of those brave people who sheltered them. If you think your life is not great, read this book and you'll be a bit more grateful!

Still Life by Joy Fielding

Fielding always does a great job of very readable books with suspense but no gore! The main character in this novel is Casey Marshall. Casey's parents were killed in a plane crash but they left her to be executor of their large estate. Since Casey's sister Drew is not a very stable person, Casey has put her on a monthly allowance so that she doesn't blow all of her money.
Mostly Casey's life is good - good husband, good friends, good career, etc. Then she is hit by a car and ends up comatose in the hospital. The doctors and her husband are talking about brain damage, ventilators, letting her die etc. But wait - Casey is actually awake inside. She just can't get her body to respond to her. So there she lies and listens to lots of conversations. Of course the burning question is - "Whom can you trust?" Read the book and find out!

The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson 306.874 Dic

The author of this book is also the author of the "Ask Amy" column. This is the story of her hometown and how she has always been pulled back to it. She has lived in London, D.C. and Chicago, but her heart is in the town of Freeville with its population of 458. A great number of Amy's relatives still live there and they've helped Amy through the ups and downs of being a single mother. It is not a book about earth-shattering events or about people who changed the course of history. It is just about people - and people are always interesting! It is written in a delightful way and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good book.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

I downloaded this book from Wilbor to listen to it. We don't own the book but we do own the movie (which I haven't watched yet).
This is a hard book to write about. The outline of the story is this - Bruno is nine and lives in Berlin (1942). One day he finds out that his father has been promoted and they are moving. Of course he is distressed to leave his friends with whom he goes on adventures and explores. The new house is far away. With a little exploring he finds out there is a fence and on the other side are lots of people who are dressed alike. Eventually he meets a boy his own age who wears striped pajama and they strike up a friendship. The whole book is told from Bruno's point of view.
The end is not pleasant - just a warning. Not everyone will want to hear/read this story.

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

This is a typical book by Sparks - enjoyable to read and a happy ending - at least for most of the characters! It's the story of Logan Thibault who was a Marine He served three tours in Iraq. While there he found a picture of a young woman taken at a fair. He pinned it on the bulletin board knowing someone would claim it. When that didn't happen he put it in his pocket. One of his buddies points out that it seems to be a lucky charm that keeps Logan from harm. Years later Logan is living in Colorado but decides he needs to find the woman in the picture. Using clues from the photo, he decides that he needs to go to North Carolina. He walks - yeah, he walks! That obviously takes him a while! He gets there and meets the woman. You will have to read the book to find out who lost the picture and if there is such a thing as a lucky charm!

The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow 305.4 Zas

Jeffrey Zaslow co-wrote the book The Last Lecture and it was fabulous. He has done an equally great job on this book. It is very well written and reads easily - I read it in less than 24 hours. The amazing thing is that Jeffrey, a male, had the audacity to write about female friendships! I thought that was supposed to be one of the great mysteries that we hide from men. I am sure he got quite the education!
This is the story of 11 childhood friends from Ames Iowa who were born in the early '60s. Today there are 10 of them. They live in different states but what isn't different is their friendship. They have maintain their bond through the decades.
I loved hearing about Ames as they were growing up - they watched "Magic Window" with Miss Mary Jane just like I did! (we weren't watching in the same decades, but still.....). Most of all I related to the idea of friendships that span the years. I have many friends in this category and I think they are the greatest blessing. I'm getting misty just typing this!
Good book!

The Ties Bind: A Memoir of Race, Memory and Redemption by Bertice Berry

I've always been intrigued by African American history, so I picked up and thumbed through this book. The story begins by explaining the background of an earlier fiction novel by Bertice Berry, who wrote of the horrors and struggles of slavery. The villainous slave owner in her novel was a Mr. John Hunn, a name she drew from the old stories her mother and her mother's mother would tell.

But Bertrice, a self proclaimed 'soul sista' from the 70's, had gotten the history wrong. This man she had been told owned the farm on which her ancestor worked on was not the villain she had ignorantly assumed he was. Dramatically, while sitting by her mother's deathbed in the hospital, Bertice watches a PBS special on abolitionists. John Hunn was actually the southern-most conductor of the Underground Railroad. Oops. The book continues with the author telling her life and how the history of her ancestors and the American people have shaped and influenced her through family, society, education and culture, for better and worse. What an eye-opening, insightful read!

Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg

Another great novel by Ms. Berg. Her characters are so real that I feel like I know them. Helen Ames is the main character. She is a daughter to aging parents, an over-protective mother to a 27-yr old daughter and poorly-prepared widow after the death of her beloved husband Dan. Although Helen made good money as a published author, Dan took care of everything in Helen's world. It is all Helen can do to get out of bed in the morning - well late morning. As if things weren't bad enough with Helen being unable to write, her accountant finally gets through to her with the news that her half of a million dollars in the bank is down to fifty thousand. Dan had withdrawn large amounts of money during the past few years. You can see that Helen has plenty on her plate! No matter your age, you will find yourself relating to someone in the story. I read this in one day - now I have to wait months and months until her next book - and that makes me sad.

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy

This is classic Binchy. She always writes so well that I am never disappointed. This novel centers around a heart clinic. Clara Casey has been hired to establish the clinic and to run it for one year. She hires a diverse group of people - all of whom have their own stories to tell. One of my favorite things about Binchy is the way she weaves the characters of earlier books into her latest endeavors. It is always fun to catch up with the lives of the twins, Maud and Simon, Father Flynn, Signora etc. A great escape to Ireland!

The Body Broken by Lynne Greenberg 921 Greenberg

The next time I have a headache or my back aches I'm going to build a bridge and get over it! Nothing I have ever experienced is close to one minute of what Lynne Greenberg has gone through. As a college student she was athletic and active. Then she met Martin. I don't know that Martin can be totally blamed...but still. Date number one- horseback riding. Lynne's horse bolts and throws her. Date two- they go skeet shooting, the gun backfires and she falls to the ground. Instead of dropping Walter, she decides to go on a third date. On their way to a party Martin is driving too fast (this is his fault!) and no one was wearing a seat belt (it was in the olden days). Lynne was lucky to be alive. She recovered, returned to school, fell in love, got married, had kids and taught English lit. And then the pain began - which is what this story is about. How her past came back to shatter her whole world and how she dealt with it is inspiring. The story of a strong woman. It was a good read.

In the Dark by Brian Freeman

We have a couple other books of Freeman's in the library and I will be checking those out too! This is a great mystery book - not gruesome, just a well-written book that keeps you wondering what really happened.
Thirty years ago a young woman, Laura, was found beaten to death. Her sister, Cindy, was with her boyfriend Jonathan that night. The only suspect was a vagrant who hopped a train that night and disappeared. Jonathan becomes a detective and experiences the loss from cancer of his beloved wife Cindy.
Now Laura's best friend Tish has returned to the area to write a book about the murder. You know what that means in a mystery book! Lots of things are uncovered that no one knew about! I loved the writing and the story line.

Gimme Shelter by Mary Elizabeth Williams 333.33 wil

I enjoy reading non-fiction. I often read true-crime stories. The crime in this book gave me the shivers. It's about the crime of the century - the housing/mortgage debacle! Mary and her husband are true New Yorkers - they can't imagine living anywhere but New York City. The book begins several years ago. Mary and Jeff are living with their daughter Lucy in an apartment in Brooklyn. "a one plus den (Brooklynese for the cell-like side room that every apartment seems equipped with). It probably measured 750 square feet in its dream." They have decided that they are tired of paying $1800/ month for this apartment and that it's time to start the quest for their piece of the American Dream.
This book tells the story of their quest. During their three-year search, prices were skyrocketing in New York. The descriptions of the places they visited and also the real estate stories of their friends were enough to keep me reading at a quick pace. I just couldn't believe that this was non-fiction! Sure I've heard stories and seen things on television - but why would anyone pay so much for so little in a place that is so packed with people????
I'm just a small-town girl - but at least I have a yard!
Fascinating read.

Until It's Over by Nicci French

Another fascinating mystery by the writing duo known as Nicci French. The book is divided into two parts. In part one the main character is Astrid Bell. She has been looking for some direction in her life. In the meantime she delivers letters and packages in London on her bike. She lives in a house owned by college friend Miles and inhabited by a variety of new and old roommates. Astrid's life seems pretty mundane until she seems to start attracting dead bodies. The police are actually getting suspicious! How ridiculous.
The second part of the book is written from the killer's point of view. An unusual approach that I liked a lot. Many interesting characters although I really wasn't fond of any of them! No tears were shed during the reading of this book.

The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil

It's hard for a woman with two rowdy boys to lose her husband in a car crash. It's even harder when the crash happens after Nick, her husband, has just announced to Jo is divorcing her. He has always traveled with his job and has not been the most dependable husband/father. With this loss comes the necessity of selling her house and moving to a small town to take over her Grandmother's knitting shop. The shop needs a face-lift. Grannie is fine with that. Elsie, who has worked at the shop forever, - well, not so much.
It is a typical 'knitting' novel - warm and fuzzy with lots of quirky people around to keep it interesting!

Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center

This is a chick-lit book. Normally I don't care too much for this genre, but occasionally it is a fun read. Lanie is married with three young sons. They have lived in her hometown of Houston where Lanie has enjoyed the support of her parents. Her husband, Peter, is a musician who cannot turn an opportunity in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lanie starts to lose it in the small apartment in their new town. Fortunately she runs into a high-school classmate, Amanda.
So this is the fluffy story of Lanie's ups and downs with her self-image, her marriage, her neighbors and her kids.
It was okay but I think it will appeal more to someone who is around 30, married and has children. I'm 60, single and have two dogs - that's the disconnect!

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult

If it is by Jodi Picoult, it is going to be interesting and thought-provoking! This book is told from alternating characters which I love because not everyone in a family actually sees things the same way - and that's an understatement!
In this novel Charlotte and Sean have a two daughters. The older, Amelia, is Charlotte's from a previous relationship. But for Sean and Amelia, their bond is as close as any blood relationship. The younger daughter, Willow, was born with OI - better known to non-medical people as brittle-bone disease. Before she was ever born, Willow had sustained numerous fractures. She is a bright girl with a great personality, but she will live her life dealing with this affliction.
The conflict of the story comes when a lawyer suggests a wrongful birth lawsuit against the ob-gyn who failed to notice something unusual on the ultrasound and thus denying Charlotte the option of an abortion. The doctor who would be sued is Charlotte's best friend Piper. Is it worth destroying a friendship to have access to the amount of money that will make Willow's life easier?
It's a heart-wrenching story - one that doesn't leave you after you have finished the last page.

Memory Lessons by Jerald Winakur 362.6 Win

This touching story is about Dr. Winakur who is around 60 years old and has spent years helping his patients (and their families) deal with the many challenges of aging. He is now getting first-hand experience because his own father and mother are among the old old (the term the doctor uses). One day his mother calls him for help because his dad had gotten lost coming home from a restaurant He drove around for an hour and wouldn't listen to her. Jerald then finds out that his mother has been keeping his father's condition a secret. After tests it is confirmed that his father is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The book itself combines stories of the past with the present. For anyone who has dealt (or is dealing) with the "old old", you will be able to relate to many parts of this book.

The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson

At a nursing home in North Carolina, four very different women become friends. Margaret and Bernice, residents, are cared for by Lorraine and have their hair done by Rhonda. Their stories and that of Lorraine's daughter, April, are told in alternating chapters.

This is a very sweet story (no pun intended!) of these women and how their lives intersect and depend on one another. Aging and death are treated in a sensitive manner with humor. As the story moves through time, we see how these women change and grow. I liked them all and felt like I was getting reacquainted with old friends.

When Will there Be Good News by Kate Atkinson

This exciting book begins with a crime that happened thirty years ago. Six-year-old Joanna survived a horrible attack. Today she is a successful doctor, a wife and a mother. Louise Monroe, from the police, comes to alert Joanna that the man responsible for the crime is being released. When Joanna abruptly leaves with her baby, Reggie, the 16 year-old nanny is sure that something terrible has happened. This book has several main characters whose lives intersect. It kept me reading at an ever quickening pace because I wanted to know what was going to happen. Loved it!

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

Let me just say - I love the Stephanie Plum books. I look forward to the arrival of a new one each year with great anticipation. When my turn comes on the hold list, I take it home, curl up on the sofa and look forward to getting reacquainted with old friends, sharing a laugh or two or three, and helping to solve a mystery.

So you can imagine how disappointed I was in this latest offering by Janet Evanovich. I could hardly follow the plot and couldn't see how everything tied together. I found I didn't care if Stephanie apprehended her skip. In fact, I'm not even sure that Stephanie cared. There was too much Diesel and not enough Morelli. In fact, Ranger got more mention than Morelli did. And who cares about Diesel anyway?

In short, I skimmed through the 309 pages (the novel ended so abruptly that I figured the author had reached her publisher-designated page count) and moved on to the next book on my list. From now on, I'll skip the "between-the-numbers" books in this series and read the main ones.

Life Sentences by Laura Lippman

This was a fascinating read. The main character is Cassandra Fallows who has been very successful with her first two books that were memoirs - at least she thought what she wrote was all true. Then she tried a fiction book - but that didn't go so well. She's already written about her childhood and about her two marriages so she thinks she has nothing else to write about. Then she hears a report about a crime which is compared to one that happened in her hometown of Baltimore. It involved one of Cassandra's friends from junior high who was arrested on suspicion of murdering her son. She refused to talk and spent 7 years in prison. Cassandra decides she could write an interesting book comparing the lives of her friends then with the lives they are leading today - with the murdered baby as the hook. None of her friends are very excited about being written about again. Intriguing plot.
I liked the book.

Addition by Toni Jordan

This is a first novel by Ms. Jordan and I think it was a good one. Our main character is Grace who lives a tightly ordered life because she is constantly counting things - number of steps, number of poppy seeds on her roll, number of clothes she puts in her washer, etc. At one time she had a more normal life and taught school. The kids were really good at counting - but not much else. One day she meets a man at the cafe and he is interested in going out with her. She can tell you exactly how many years, days, etc. it has been since last she had a date. Can a guy break through to the real person behind all of the numbers? You will just have to read the book to find out!

Bikini Season by Sheilia Roberts

Almost everyone wants to lose weight which is why most of us can relate to parts of this book. Erin, Angela, Megan and Kissy belong to a cooking club. Erin is going to drop out (as are some others) because she can't fit into her wedding dress and her miserly fiance would be very unhappy if she had to spend more money. They quickly decided to change the cooking club to a diet club. Of course all of the members have issues they are working on which will be resolved as the book progresses! A light, easy read.

Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay

When the Langley's (husband, wife, and teen-age son) are murdered in their home, neighbors Bill and his wife, Ellen, find themselves wondering how their own family might be involved. Bill is now a gardener but used to be a driver and gofer for the town's completely corrupt mayor. His wife, Ellen, works for the local college planning a literary event. Their son, Derek, was a friend of the boy who was killed. Should they have known more about their neighbor's lives? When Derek is arrested for the murders, Bill and Ellen know he is innocent - but how do they prove it?

I read 330 pages of this 400-page novel in one day. The pacing is fast, the characters likable, and it made me wonder how I would react if my normal life suddenly wasn't. A good, fast read.

The Girl in the Green Sweater by Krystyna Chiger 940.53

I have always been intrigued by the Holocaust and have read many books on the subject. In my opinion there is no reason to read fictional books about this event since the truth could never be outdone by the reality. I have read about people who survived in concentration camps and people who survived by hiding in attics. In this book Krystyna tells the story of how she went from being a normal child living with her baby brother and parents in a nice apartment, to living in the sewers of Lvov Poland. This is a remarkable story of survival, faith and friendship. The green sweater in the title refers to the sweater that she wore during the entire ordeal. You won't soon forget this book.

Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron

I believe this is the first novel by Ms Ephron - she is a mystery reviewer and has written non-fiction books. She must have picked up a lot from reading mysteries because she did a great job on this novel! It very much reminded me of a Mary Higgins Clark book. From the first page I was interested in the characters. They are Ivy and David, a young married couple eagerly awaiting the arrival of a baby. They had a stillborn child before and Ivy is on pins and needles about this one. They live in an old Victorian house that they bought 3 years before. As the birth of the baby approaches, Ivy begins nesting and cleaning. At last the stuff in the attic that was left from the previous owner must go! They have a yard sale. At the sale a woman comes up to Ivy to ask about a swan dish. The woman turns out to be a former high school classmate. Neither Ivy nor David were friends of Melinda's but she carries on a long and annoying (to Ivy) conversation. David "saves" Ivy and takes Melinda off for a tour of the remodeling. Melinda isn't seen leaving the house by anyone. The Police come asking questions. Poor Ivy. There she is pregnant and now this. And more upsetting is the question of whom she can trust.
Great mystery - not gory. Reads quickly. It's a good one!

Dream House by Valerie Laken

This is a debut novel and I can't wait for more to be published! It was very well-written. It begins with a short chapter about a man and his young helper who are hired to clean up a crime scene. It isn't too graphic (yeah!) and we don't get a lot of information about the crime. Then it skips twenty years forward. Two stories are then told and eventually they overlap. The basic story is about Kate and Stuart who buy a very run-down house in Michigan. When school lets out for the summer Kate throws herself into the remodel even though Stuart is less than enthusiastic and their marriage reaches a critical state. The other story is about Walker. He has recently been released from prison. He ends up helping Kate with the remodel. I loved the way she wrote this book, intertwining the different characters and stories. Highly recommended!

Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan by Suze Orman

This is an audio book. If you like Suze Orman, you will feel like she is right in your ear! She offers a simplified explanation of what happened to the country financially. The rest of the book is situations and action plans. The downside of an audio book is that you can't skim through it. So you have to listen to every situation and action plan! It is filled with scary situations and straight-talking solutions - Suze never pulls any punches.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Part of this story takes place in the Japanese interment camps during World War II which is what drew me to the book. I always liked history and I actually read the assignments and paid attention in class. Imagine my astonishment when I found out around the age of 30, that my own country and rounded up American citizens and put them in camps because they were of Japanese ancestry. That seems to have been left out of the history books when I was in school. This is a wonderful book that takes us into the lives of those that lived in Seattle at that time. Through flashbacks we learn the story of Henry (despite the name he is Chinese). He got a scholarship to an exclusive elementary school. The white kids either ignore him or tease him. School becomes bearable when he meets Keiko, a young Japanese-American girl. They become close friends. One day she is taken away in the evacuations.
In present day, Henry is a recent widower who is having a hard time dealing with his loss and communicating with his son. A discovery is made in the basement of an old hotel. There are boxes and belongings of the Japanese-American families. Could Henry find a trace of Keiko's past in that basement? You will have to read the book to find out! Well written and a good peek into an embarrassing part of American history.

The Appeal by John Grisham

This newest book by Grisham reminds me of the first one he wrote - The Firm, which I think was my favorite. Once again there is a fine young lawyer. His dad is a small-town lawyer and he has been Kyle's role model. Kyle wants to do something good and worthwhile with his law degree. Before he can even graduate from law school he is approached by some really bad guys. They have some evidence of a possible rape that happened in Kyle's college apartment five years ago. They blackmail Kyle into signing with a prestigious law firm in New York so that he can get them information on a high-profile law suit. Quick paced with lots of twists. It's a winner

While my sister sleeps by Barbara Delinsky

Ms. Delinsky always writes very readable books - and this one is no exception. The Snow sisters, Molly and Robin, are grown-up and living together. But just because you are a grown-up doesn't mean that you are over the resentments, jealousy etc. that you had as children. Molly always tries to be the good one. She is the one that keeps their house in order. She works in the family business - a nursery, trying to impress her mother. Robin is a world-class runner and is always preparing for a race or in a race. Right now she has her eyes on the Olympics. Robin wanted Molly to help her train one day - that is, to wait a designated place with water. Molly is mad because Robin was supposed to train that morning but then changed it to late afternoon. Molly has reasons she gives for not being able to help. So Robin goes running by herself. Later Molly receives a call that Robin is in the hospital and for her to come right away. Assuming it is another sprained ankle, Molly takes her time. When she arrives at the hospital she finds that Robin has had a heart attack and is in critical condition. The book is about the family and how they cope with this tragedy and guilt. It was a good one!

The Spare Room by Helen Garner

This is a short but powerful book. Nicola has advanced cancer and is chasing alternative treatments. She is upbeat and absolutely certain that the treatments will heal her. She calls on her old friend Helen to ask if she can stay with her when she comes to town for the three weeks of treatment. Helen is, of course, happy to help out her friend. But reality is a little different. On the back of the book is a quote from Hilary Mantel concerning this book. The line that struck me was "What are the limits of friendship?" This book explores the answer to that question.

Running from the Puppet Master by D-L Nelson

This was a quick read full of suspense. Leah Stockbridge is a square peg in a round hole. Her family is very New England conservative. She is an artist. Her art teacher is encouraging her to go to art school. Her parents will have nothing to do with it - and they will not pay for it. Leah gets a job and saves her money. She gets accepted into art school and sneaks into Boston to rent an apartment. The day her parents think she is going off to a 'real' school, she announces what she has done. Things go well for a while - artistic success, love - the usual. Then tragedy strikes (doesn't it always??). Leah moves to Paris where she meets Jean-Luc, a smooth Swiss rich guy. Her life is filled with lots of material things, but nothing that fulfills her artist's soul. She ends up on the run - I won't tell you why. It was a good book.

Made from Scratch by Jenna Woginrich 640 Wog

The sub-title of this book is "Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life". I always like reading about how-to-simplify-your life books but this one was almost unbelievable! Ms Woginrich, a web designer, is only 26 years old. My idea of simplifying is having fewer magazine subscriptions and cleaning out the basement. This woman takes up homesteading after hours! She plants a garden, raises bees, makes omelets with fresh eggs from her hens - well you get the idea. Oh yeah, she also has two huskies for sledding. I admire her a lot! She gives lots of ideas and suggestions on how the rest of us can join in this lifestyle. I personally did not take notes, but it was interesting to read!

The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman - audio book on Wilbor

This was a great book to listen to. Jane Hudson was a student at Heart Lake School twenty years ago. She came from a poor family and attended on a scholarship. She formed a close bond to the other scholarship student named Lucy. The two of them end up sharing a dorm room with Deirdre. By the end of her senior year Jane had lost her two roommates and Lucy's brother Matt (who is also Jane's love interest) to suicide. Perhaps the legend of the lake claiming the lives of children is true! Now Jane is a Latin teacher at the school. She has separated from her husband and is living in a cottage with her daughter. Jane is shocked when a page from her high school journal shows up. Then it seems that the events of 20 years ago are beginning to repeat themselves. The story goes back and forth between the present and 20 years ago. It certainly kept my interest. A good book!

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken 921 McC

Ms. McCracken is a successful novelist. She never thought she would get married and that was okay with her. Of course she meets another writer and falls madly in love. This is the story of her early marriage and her first pregnancy. The baby died in the ninth month and she had to go through labor to deliver him. It is a heartbreaking story. I am just going to quote from the book cover because it explains the book in the best way. "It is a story of true love and unfathomable sadness. It is a story of courageous recovery and bittersweet moments, of steadfast memories and deep affection. It is a story of the importance of friendship. It is a story of happiness and of hope." Definitely not a book for everyone, but it is well-written and very touching

Good-Bye and Amen by Beth Gutcheon

This is the follow-up book to Leeway Cottage. It was great. The format is a bit different. There are a lot of characters and they tell the story in snippets. It is interesting because we hear the same story from different points of view. It can be confusing sometimes - but at the back of the book is a list of characters. That would have helped if I had known it was there before I started reading! The story begins after the death of Sydney and Laurus, the parents of Eleanor, Monica and Jimmy. They all have their own scars from childhood. One of my favorite parts of the book is during the 'lottery' that takes place. The three adult children (with no spouses or children) are to choose what they want from Leeway Cottage, one at a time. I loved the reactions and strategies they each had! I really enjoyed both books.

Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon

A new book caught my eye and I began reading the jacket. There I discovered that it was a follow-up book to this book, Leeway Cottage. Often it is not that important to read books in order since the author manages to bring you up to date with what has gone on with the characters. In this case I am very glad I read this one first. It is the generational story of a family who summer in a coastal village in Maine. The main character is Sydney who grew up with a loving father and a jealous, cold mother. At the beginning of World War II she falls in love with Laurus, a talented pianist from Denmark. They elope. A year later they begin a four-year separation when Laurus goes to London to help organize a Danish Resistance. I was fascinated by this part of the story that told about what went on in Denmark during that time. They rescued almost all of the 7000 Jews in their country.
Laurus comes back home and meets his nearly four-year-old daughter and begins the next phase of his life. The characters are interesting and the background is well-done. I am almost half-way through the second book which picks up immediately after the death of Sydney and Laurus. I'll be blogging on that one soon!

Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton

Chloe Hobbs is the only human living in Sugar Maple. And she is their only salvation.

Descended from a long line of sorceresses, Chloe must find a way to get her magic in order to save the town from outsiders. A charm cast by her ancestor provided that as long as someone in her line was around to keep the magic going, the town would be a safe haven for all magical beings--werewolves, vampires, trolls, and the fae. However, with Chloe still not accessing her magic, that charm is losing power.

Then someone dies. The first death since Chloe's parents. And the investigation brings in an outsider--a cop who has to investigate. And suddenly, Chloe's whole world is turned upside down.

A humorous and charming romance story. For those who love knitting, you'll get a kick out of a main character who owns a yarn store, and can teach anyone how to knit. Tips and tricks are listed in the back of the book. If you don't really like magical beings, you'll still like the book!

The Distance Between Us by Bart Yates (Fiction)

At 71, Hester Parker is dealing with the end of her 45-year marriage. When she rents her upstairs apartment to a young college student, she has no idea of the impact he will have on her family.

Hester is handling a lot - the end of her concert pianist career many years before, her children who want nothing to do with her, the fact that her husband left her for another woman. She is bitter and angry. Her biting wit can hide many things but not this.

Many times while reading this book, I wanted to shake everyone in it. Although I didn't always agree with Hester, I found myself liking her and understanding where her actions were coming from.

I enjoyed the way the author wrote, especially about music and the way it affected all of the characters in the book. His characters were believable and compelling and the pages flew by all too quickly.

Show No Fear by Perri O'Shaughnessy

This "author" is really two sisters who have written eleven other books with Nina Reilly as the main character. This book is a prequel to that series so we get a glimpse into Nina's past. If you are a fan of Nina Reilly, this is a must-read book!
We learn about her pregnancy and the birth of her son - plus the background on the father. There is also an intriguing story line about her mother and her brother.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

When I read the jacket of this book I was expecting a familiar theme. I didn't mind since I was in the mood for an easy, warm-fuzzy book. The theme is simple - a bunch of strangers come together because of an interest - usually quilting or knitting. This time it is for cooking lessons. I cannot exactly explain the difference in this book - maybe the characters are simply a bit more real than usual. It was a very relaxing, soothing book to read - of course I was also very hungry while I read it! A good and gentle read! I highly recommend it!

Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King

Though Lady Macbeth will bring to mind images of murder and witches, this book has shed new light on the TRUE Lady Macbeth, and will remind us that even though Shakespeare was an exceptionally talented and gifted playwright, he was in NO SENSE a historian. I will give him credit for looking back in history for inspiration, but he really ignored the true drama, and sensationalized characters to fit his own plots. On the flip side, Susan Fraser King has produced an incredible piece of fiction based on extensive research of 11th century Scotland and understanding of Gaelic and Pictish culture. Here is a true heroine of Scotland that now invokes image of Boudicca rather than a demented queen from Shakespeare's imagination. Not familiar with Shakespeare's play? Then don't worry, this read will entertain, inspire, and transport you to the age of pre-Norman Britain and Vikings. I highly reccommend this book.

City of God by Beverly Swerling (Fiction)

I stumbled across the first book in this series while spending time in an airport several years ago. The series revolves around the conflict between the Turner and Devrey families, both involved in the history of New York City.

This latest offering takes place during the middle of the 1800s. Nicholas Turner continues the family tradition of being a doctor but is more interested in research than in actual practice. His main focus is the affect of germs on patient health - a new concept in the 1840s. His distant cousin, Samuel Devrey, continues to try to reclaim the family shipping line from the control of the Astor family. While married to the supremely respectable Carolina (whom Nicholas secretly loves), he is also juggling a secret life with his Chinese wife who lives in what will become Chinatown.

The characters' lives intertwine with those of real New Yorkers and the author makes life during that time period come alive. I enjoyed the pacing of the book as well as trying to figure out who was real and who wasn't!

The Witch's Grave by Shirley Damsgaard (paperback)

This is the sixth book in the Ophelia and Abby mystery series. All of them take place in the fictional Iowa town of Summerset and revolve around the adventures of Ophelia, the town's librarian and reluctant witch.

At a library fundraiser at a local winery (where the owner is named Ron Mark), Ophelia is drawn to a visitor there. When he is shot while walking with her, she is pulled into the investigation. Was she the target? What do the dreams she's been having mean? Will she finally come to terms with her powers as a witch and reluctant practitioner of "magick"?

I enjoy these books - and not because the Friends hosted a library fundraiser for the author at the Summerset Winery a few years ago! The story moves along rapidly, the characters are fun, and the author manages to tell murder mysteries without using graphic violence, language, or sexual connotations. I think the strongest word she used in this latest offering was "dang." A fun read!

Alex & Me by Irene Pepperberg 636.6 Pep

If you read my blogs (and I'm sure I have many faithful readers out there!), you know that I am a sap for animal stories. This is in the same vein as Wesley the Owl. As a matter of fact, this book was referenced in the Wesley book. Irene Pepperberg is a scientist who spent 30 years with Alex. Alex died unexpectedly and prematurely. The day before he died he spoke his final words to Irene. "You be good. I love you." If that doesn't bring a tear to your eye you are not a sappy animal lover. But maybe you'll like the book anyway! It's fascinating what Alex taught the world of science.
My favorite scene in the book is on page 126. Alex and Irene are traveling from Chicago to Arizona by United Airlines. The scene at check-in was a laugh out loud moment! I loved the book.

Multiple Bles8ings by Jon& Kate Gosselin 920 gos

I think this would be an interesting book for anyone - but if you watch the tv show Jon and Kate + 8, you will love it! I watch all of the episodes, so as I read the book I could actually hear the dialogue in my head with their voices! If you don't know the background of this couple, here it is in a nutshell. Jon and Kate fell in love and married. They couldn't get pregnant so they went to a fertility doctor. They had twin girls. Then a few years later Kate wanted to have another baby and Jon finally gives in and says okay, let's have another baby. She becomes pregnant with 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls. This is the story of those times. I was exhausted just reading the book - but I loved it.

Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair 306.89 Per

This book is by Laurie Perry and it is non-fiction. It is a touching but humorous book about a 30+ year old happily married woman. Well, that describes her one day. The next day her husband announces that he needs to leave to "get his creativity back". From the title you can guess how she took the news. Her husband didn't fight over custody of the four-legged kids. In fact he just left them - all four of the felines- with Laurie. That, of course, made it a lot harder to find a place to live when she needed to downsize to a more affordable place.
I have read several books about women finding comfort and new friendships by knitting or quilting - but they were fiction! This happens to Laurie in real life. Yep, knitting saved her sanity and led her to new friends.
A delightful and easy read.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Ms. Genova is a first-time novelist. I'm looking forward to her next book already! This book grabbed me from the first page. It is the fictional story of a 50 year-old Harvard professor who thinks she is going into menopause after checking out the symptoms online. Memory lapses, lack of concentration and so on. She finally goes to her doctor. She is actually in the early stages of early-onset Alzheimers. The book is told from her point of view and is very compelling. Ms. Genova is a neuroscientist from Harvard and also writes a column for the National Alzheimer's Association. In other words, she wasn't sitting at her kitchen table making this stuff up. So it may be fiction, but there are millions of people who are living this story. If you don't need to have a 'happy-ever-after' ending, read this book!