Half Year Round Up

June 30, 201037 Comments

So, we’re halfway through the year and time to take a look at how I’m doing on my goals and what’s been going on around here on this blog. Let me start by mentioning my two favorite posts, not because of what I wrote, but because of what you did. (After 14 Years a Pregnant Pause, Morning Sickness and My Google Reader) The response to my pregnancy has been heartwarming and I thank you all for taking the time to wish us well. The Little One should weigh about pound now and be the size of a small doll. Is it time to start getting nervous?

My reading goal for the year is 105 books with 12 of those being non-fiction. I could be doing better. I’ve only read 44 books and 2 of those were non-fiction. I’m usually a little OCD about goals and challenges, but I’m trying to cut myself some slack. I’ve got other things going on these days and need to keep reading in perspective. But even as I type that my mind is whispering, “You can do it. No problem.” So, we’ll see.

There have been a few changes. I’ve started posting my weekly quizzes on Tuesdays and offering a few prizes. Thank you to everyone who participates. I have fun and hope you do too! As a bonus I discovered that if you Google ‘book quizzes’ I’m the first thing that pops up and I’m starred even. I admit I got a kick out of that 😉

I’m doing my 5 word movie reviews every month and invite you all to try it and link up. I’ve only done a few author interviews and although I love doing them I don’t have the time to focus on that right now. They do take quite a bit of time.

I asked you all to vote for 50 of the books I’d read from my own shelves this year and 72 of you voted. Of those 50 I’ve read 16 for the RYOB Challenge My two favorite so far have been The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (to be reviewed tomorrow) and Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. So far, you’ve done a great job choosing books 🙂

I’ve read 29 out of 52 for this challenge, so I’m not doing too bad. So far, my favorite read from this challenge is Saving Cee Cee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman.

For some crazy reason I signed up to read 35 new authors this year and I’ve managed 19. My favorite (aside from the ones I’ve mentioned above) is Marisa de los Santos.

I’m to read 9 books with 9 different colors in the title for this one and have read 3. I loved Red Light and Black Water, both by T. Jefferson Parker.

I’ve read 2 of 4 short story collections and didn’t really love either one, so I’m hoping the next 2 will be great.

50 states of mind Of the 51 (with Washington DC) I’ve read from 18 states. So far, New York has been the most visited with 8 trips.

I’m looking forward to the second half of 2010 🙂

Fortunate Harbor, by Emilie Richards

June 27, 20105 Comments

Finished 6-26-10, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2010

Book 2 of the Happiness Key trilogy (Book 1)

Tracy owns a development in Florida that has small cottages for rent. It it all she had left after her ex-husband went to jail and the government took every other asset they had. She is just starting a new relationship when her ex is released from jail and shows up in town. She shares a close friendship with the other women in the development. Wanda, an outspoken waitress, loses her job and decides to start her own business making pies. Janya wants to have a baby with her husband, but he is avoiding her to her great shame and frustration. Alice and her granddaughter Olivia are a big draw to the newest resident, Dana and her daughter Lizzie. Dana is secretive and the other women believe she may be on the run from the law.

These woman have an enviable bond. They are obviously very different, in age, relationship, religion, and culture, and yet they all love and support each other. This would be a good lesson for us all! Not only are they the best of friends, but they are all neighbors. I wish I could pick up all of my best friends and move them on my street. What fun we would have.

The driving forces of the book is the secret that Dana is keeping and the real reason CJ, Tracy’s ex, is back in town. These storylines were what kept me interested. I liked the women themselves too, but wish I had read the first book in the trilogy. It wasn’t hard to keep everyone straight, but I may have been more engaged in the story if I knew where each of them was coming from. I think because of that the first half of the book dragged a bit for me. By the second half I was into it and more interested in what would happen. This is why I don’t usually read series or trilogies out of order.

This was a fun read about the friendship women share.

The author sent me this book. In case you missed it I did interview Emilie last year, here, and she was a delight 🙂

Running Blind, by Lee Child

June 23, 2010July 5, 201218 Comments

Finished 6-19-10, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2000

Book 4 in the Jack Reacher series (Book 1) (Book 2) (Book 3)

Ex Military Police, Jack Reacher has stopped roaming the country and settled in New York City in his own house to be near his girlfriend Jodie. He’s still trying to right wrongs with his own brand of justice and after one such run-in he is picked up by the FBI. Reacher has a problem. Women that he knew from his Army days are being killed and the FBI think it could be him. He proves that it’s not, but because his last fight landed two important people in the hospital, the FBI force him to work with them to find the killer. At first Reacher is an unwilling and uninterested participant, but then it gets personal and Reacher is out for blood.

When I read the last Reacher novel Rhapsody in Books left a comment saying “it’s sort of like watching an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie” and I couldn’t say it better. Jack is a man who knows how to get things done and he’s not afraid of violence or adhering to the law. And usually the body count is quite high. This book was surprising in that Jack killed so few people! It felt more like a straight mystery and it was a nice change of pace since it forced Reacher to work within the lines of the law. Well, mostly 🙂

I think I could read this whole series straight through and never get bored. The action is non-stop and the mysteries are good. This one I did figure out before the end, but there was enough doubt to leave me second guessing. If you like edge of your seat action and books that find you reading late into the night then this is the series for you.

This is from my personal library and chosen by ‘Nise and Sheral. Here’s what they had to say…

“Jack Reacher is a great character.” ‘Nise

“Love his books.” Sheral

Die Trying, by Lee Child

June 17, 201018 Comments

Finished 6-14-10, rating 4.5/5, thriller, pub. 1998

This is book 2 in the Jack Reacher series (Book 1)

Jack Reacher is an ex-MP who is aimlessly travelling around the country after 13 years serving in the military and he happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The place is Chicago and the time is when FBI agent Holly Johnson, a woman with secrets and family in the highest of high places, is snatched off the street. When they realize they are being kidnapped by a crazy militia in Montana they are sure they will be rescued, but as time goes on and the craziness seems even crazier Jack realizes it is up to him to get them out of there. The rescue that should have come is delayed by the President and his chief of staff due to politics and it’s enough to make you mad (as most political things tend to do to me).

Jack Reacher is a man’s man, but one that women are drawn to because of his sheer masculinity and unavailability. He is who he is, take him or leave him and that confidence and physical presence makes him a force to be reckoned with. When I read the first Jack Reacher I said I was unsure about him because I didn’t know where he drew the line at right and wrong and this book helped clarify that for me. He’s a tough guy and one easy to like.

I liked this one even better than the first. It is still gritty and grisly, but not quite as much as the first. I am looking forward to more Jack!

This is from my personal library.

Home Safe, by Elizabeth Berg

June 16, 201028 Comments

Finished audio 6-10-10, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2009

Unabridged audio read by the author

Helen is a 50 something widowed author who is still trying to find her way a year after her husband’s death. She cannot do the most basic things around the house relying instead on her 27-year-old daughter Tessa and she has not been able to write at all. When she finds out the nest egg she thought would support her financially is gone, having been taken out of the bank by her husband before his death, she has no idea what to think. She takes a job teaching a writing workshop and the eccentric students force her writer’s instincts to kick in. When the truth comes out about where the $850,000 went a fork in the road presents itself and Helen is forced to evaluate her life and what she wants to do with it.

Elizabeth Berg always writes books I can relate to even though I am not in the same age range or situation as the main character. There is such truth and beauty in her writing that I am immediately drawn in, as I was here. And the fact that she read it herself was wonderful. My favorite part of the book revolved around Helen receiving a not-so-flattering letter from a reader and how it affected her. It felt like Berg may have been telling her own story.

I did feel it was similar in some ways to another of her books, The Year of Pleasures, and I actually think I prefer The Year of Pleasures. Helen did get on my nerves at times. What woman, no matter how reliant she is on her husband, calls the police when she has a leak?

So, it was good, not my favorite, but a solid read, or in my case, listen to.

I borrowed this audiobook from the library.

Black Water, by T. Jefferson Parker

June 10, 2010June 10, 20105 Comments

Finished 6-10-10, rating 4.5/5, mystery, pub. 2002

Book 3 of the Merci Rayborn trilogy (Book1 review) (Book 2 review)

Merci is a homicide detective with her eyes on the sheriff’s office someday. This will be hard since decisions made a year ago (in Red Light) have alienated her from half of the police force of Los Angeles. When a case comes in about a probable murder-attempted suicide involving a fellow officer Merci is reluctant to believe the officer guilty, even though evidence points in his direction. When the officer survives, but with bullet parts littering his brain, the case becomes more complicated since he remembers little to nothing about the crime and what he does remember may or may not be true.

Merci is a single mom living with her toddler son and father and pining after her partner Paul Zamorra. She takes a personal interest in the case and has to butt heads with the prosecutors to keep the officer out of jail. I love Merci. She is strong, wounded, complicated, and smart. She is good at her job and unwilling to back down.

I loved the way this book wrapped up. I immediately looked to see what the next in the series was and…there isn’t one! Not only that, but Parker doesn’t plan on writing more. So, I went back and read the last chapter again and found it to be the perfect way to end Merci’s story.

I highly recommend these three books for mystery and police procedural fans.

This was from my personal library.

Welcome to the World, Baby Girl, by Fannie Flagg

June 9, 201015 Comments

Finished 6-7-10, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1998

His voice began to drift off. The earth, baby…sometimes I think it’s just a holding pen for crackpots. Who knows what planets have discarded us as factory rejects, unfit to live among more civilized planetary societies. We may be living on the dark side of the moon and don’t know it.”

-The Court of Two Sisters chapter

Dena is a high-profile, on the rise network anchor who has the looks and smarts to have the world at her feet. Only she has no real friends, is afraid to love and drinks herself into oblivion most nights. The bright lights of New York City have always been her goal and now that she’s there she finds that she must do questionable gotcha interviews to stay on top. It’s the 1970’s and the beginning of tabloid journalism and even the icy, ambitious Dena has qualms about the tactics and the stress leads to a serious health issue that sidelines her in the small town of Elmwood Springs, Missouri.

Dena’s 1970’s story jumps back to the early days of Elmwood Springs and the people who that relate to Dena. It’s a small town with nice, honest, and eccentric people. When Dena finds herself convalescing there her heart begins to thaw just a little and she begins to question her childhood and the mystery surrounding her mother. Dena also touches base with her best friend from college, Sookie, a loveable woman living in a small Georgia town.

Dena has so many flaws, but for some reason she is easy to like because you sense the goodness underneath all of the reserve. Everyone seems to love her een though for most of the book she offers nothing back, how lucky is that? The story itself is charming and rich, if a bit meandering at first. I enjoyed the rose-colored glasses view of Elmwood Springs as the ideal dream and loved its juxtaposition with mean, heartless New York City. Neither seemed particularly accurate, but it was a fun ride until the mystery involving Dena’s mother unraveled. For me it seemed a bit anticlimactic. Realistically, I know it could have happened but I was hoping for more. It didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book, only left me with a less positive feeling than I’d felt the rest of the book.

I really liked my first Fannie Flagg book and its southern charm.

This is from my personal library and chosen by Debbie, Molly, and Sarah. Here’s what they had to say…

“I love all of hers because of the great characters and the small town settings.” Debbie

“A novel about a small-town filled with many interesting, quirky characters.” Sarah

“She writes with great humor and I have a feeling you will want some good laughs after reading the rest of my choices. Plus, I have this book sitting in my to read pile and would love to have someone to read along with it ;0)” Molly

Women Who Love Books Too Much, by Brenda Knight

June 4, 20107 Comments

Finished 6-4-10, rating 3/5, non fiction, pub. 2000

It had been startling

and disappointing to me

to find out

that story books

had been written by people,

that books were not

natural wonders, coming up of themselves

like grass.

-Eudora Welty

With a title like this how could I not pick it up, especially since I found it at Half-Price Books? There are seven different groupings of women with short bios of each woman included. I enjoyed some chapters more than others and there is a large selection of women from every time period and geographic location (although it is clearly Anglo based). I had heard of maybe a little more than half of these women and enjoyed getting to know some women that I knew of, but had never read. Betty Friedan, Mary Baker Eddy, and Gertrude Stein were a few that interested me the most, since I knew so little about them. I didn’t realize that Gertrude Stein was buried at the Cemetery of Pere-Lachaise in Paris or else I would had looked for her when we were there last week. I’ll be talking about that cemetery in my Paris recap on Sunday.

I thought the book was good, but considering the title, a little boring. I read it in snippets, so it took me a long time to finish. This would not have happened if I had been truly engaged. This book is gift sized and I do think it is a fun gift for a book lover, especially those who are interested in biographies of women.

This is from my personal library and was chosen for me by Amanda, Angie, and Mystica. Here’s what they had to say…

“Partially because I love the title, and also because it sounds like the name of a self-help group that I probably need to join (okay, so there’s actually no probably about it.)” Angie

“What a really apt title for almost all of us!” Mystica

“Awesome title!” Amanda

Book Problem Year 3

May 19, 201038 Comments

Another year, another evaluation of my unread book selection. Here’s my stack of unread books in May 2008.

And last year I recreated the stacks (I added 49, but read or gave away 49) and took this photo

book problem 09 2

So, now it’s time to fess up. I did not do so well at keeping my unread book pile from continuing to take over the house. I started with 369 books, I read or gave away 41, but brought 79 new titles into the house that I haven’t read yet. Yes, that’s a total of 407. Here’s the visual…

You can see that even Max is a little shocked!

But there’s more book news that makes this book problem more serious. You know when you leave home and boxes of your stuff get packed away in your parent’s basement? Well, at the age of 38 I finally convinced my Dad that I could handle the boxes (I mean we have a big basement now too ;)), so over the holidays he brought box after box of stuff.

Wanna guess how many books were in these boxes?

Here’s a look at the new visual with the books in front.

I refuse to count these and add them to my total. Whatever I don’t read or get rid of by next year I’ll add.

But you will get to benefit from these extra books I now have. Over the next week or so I will be offering up free books from these boxes. Take a look at the book selection, tell me which one you’d like to have in a comment and on June 2nd I’ll pick a winner or two from each day and he or she will receive the book of their choice. PLEASE enter every day. They are used books, but there are some good titles in there.

By recreating my stacks of unread books every year it does hold me in check for a good six months. I don’t plan on buying books – well, except for baby – and I won’t enter giveaways unless the book is on my wish list. I need to be good because I have a feeling when baby comes my reading may take a hit for a while.

So, do you want to post a picture of your To Be Read pile or piles? Leave a link in the comments and I’ll add you here. Come on, let me see that I’m not alone!

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, by Laurie Viera Rigler

May 19, 201010 Comments

Finished 5-16-10, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2007

Sanitized simulacra, lack of indoor plumbing, and oppressive mothers notwithstanding, there is something about the simplicity and quiet of this world that not only does not disappoint, but which exceeds any expectation. I don’t have the constant noise in my brain from all the Internet, ipod, and radio signals streaming all those sounds and words and pictures into my consciousness practically every waking moment of every day. I never even noticed that noise in my brain until I realized I didn’t have it anymore.

Chapter 14

Courtney Stone goes to sleep in current day Los Angeles and wakes up in 19th century England. And she’s not even herself. She finds herself in the body of Jane Mansfield whose love life strangely mirrors her own. Courtney has always been a fan on Jane Austen and the regency time period, but she finds that novels do not always capture the dark side of pre-plumbing living. How long will she be stuck in Jane’s body? And is there anything she can do to get home?

This was a fun and frothy read. I loved when she was able to meet Jane Austen and Austen thought she was a lunatic. I enjoyed the story, but I’m not sure it’s one that will stick with me. It was almost too light, but still fun. I know there is a sequel and I will probably pick it up at some point.