Then Came You by Jenneifer Weiner

From Goodreads: The lives of four very different women intertwine in unexpected ways. Each woman has a problem: Princeton senior Jules Wildgren needs money to help her dad cure his addiction; Pennsylvania housewife Annie Barrow is gasping to stay financially afloat; India Bishop yearns to have a child, an urge that her stepdaughter Bettina can only regard with deeply skepticism until she finds herself in a most unexpected situation. Interlocking dramas designed to ensnare.


This one was just okay for me. The plot was interesting, kind of intricate machinations in order to bring all these storylines together the way she did. But I kept waiting for one of the characters to surprise me, to reveal somethig of themselves other than what Weiner lies out quite plainly and that never happened. So I felt like she was talking down to me as if I couldn't coax anything out on my own but had to have everything diagrammed. It was still entertaining, it would make a great vacation read when you just want to relax and not think!


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

Where did this month these months go?

I started this post in May and now here it is July! I had to take a slew of online classes because my employer decided very unexpectedly that I should renew my expired teaching certificate and do it immediately please! so I basically took a years worth of classes over this summer session and it consumed a huge junk of my time! Ugh - just a few loose ends for that and I'll be done and hopefully back in the swing of things! Hope everyone out there in the book blogosphere has been well. I miss the community and am looking forward to some time to particpate soon.

Here's where I was in May before the new craziness began....

Hard to believe I have let almost a month go by without tending to my posts! I always say "May is the new December" for those of us with school aged children. As soon as we get through Easter, the end of year festivities begin and it is one thing after another! I have been reading though so to get myself back on track I will make my list of books read here and see what I can get done as far as my thoughts later!

Homefront by Kristin Hannah
Uglies by Scott Westerfield
Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmell
She Got Up Off the Couch by Haven Kimmell
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory
The Lions of the West by Robert Morgan
The Paris Wife by Paula McClain
Ketchup is a Vegetable by Robin O'Bryant

And, since May, I can also add...
Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiana
Coming Out by Danielle Steele
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Night Swim by Jessica Keener
Off the Road by Jack Hitt
The Skinny Rules by Bob Harper
Autism At Hand by Lorca Damon
Just A Guy by Bill Engvall
The Cat Manual by Michael Taylor
A Quiver Full of Arrows by Jeffrey Archer
Evidence by Johnathan Kellerman
Say When by Elizabeth Berg
Staying at Daisy's by Jill Mansell
Your Two Year Old by Ames and Ilg

Serena by Ron Rash

From Goodreads: The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountains—but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons' intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning.

Serena was my local book club's pick for April. I loved it but not every one did. Of the eleven of us, three didn't finish it because they did not like it but everyone else enjoyed it. I guess that makes it one of those books that you either jump into and love or you can't get into at all. I thought it was like rolling down a hill - a jarring start with a murder within the first few pages and then it gains momentum and you just get into a whirlwind that at the end leaves you shaking your head thinking, "Wow, how did that happen!" and trying to decide if it was fun or not.

The tug of war between environmentalists trying to preserve the land through the creation of a national park and the developers wanting to make use of the resources in a way that brings in business and industry was fascinating. It's a conflict still unfolding worldwide but for me very close to home here in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. I may not know the perfect balance but I could envision the wilderness Ron Rash described being felled by clear cutting for timber and knew that wasn't it! He created more than one villain in this book and it made for interesting layers to be discussed.

Ron Rash has a new book out - that will go on my mental wish list. He's doing an author event in South Carolina but it's all the way across the state almost as far away from where I am as you can get! So I will have to live vicariously through my upstate friend, Kathy over at Bermudaonion's Weblog.


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

The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew

From Goodreads: In this beautifully written debut, Anna Jean Mayhew offers a riveting depiction of Southern life in the throes of segregation, what it will mean for a young girl on her way to adulthood--and for the woman who means the world to her. . .
On a scorching day in August 1954, thirteen-year-old Jubie Watts leaves Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family for a Florida vacation. Crammed into the Packard along with Jubie are her three siblings, her mother, and the family's black maid, Mary Luther. For as long as Jubie can remember, Mary has been there--cooking, cleaning, compensating for her father's rages and her mother's benign neglect, and loving Jubie unconditionally. Bright and curious, Jubie takes note of the anti-integration signs they pass, and of the racial tension that builds as they journey further south. But she could never have predicted the shocking turn their trip will take.

This audiobook was a win from Kathy at Bermudaonion's Weblog and, boy, was that a lucky win - I LOVED it! I didn't love it in a perky "OMG it was so cute" way more like it was cathartic because it just left me feeling wrung out. The time period is so tension filled as racial segregation is creeping through the South and the family is a bundle of nerves tiptoieng around their dysfunction. The soft spot for Jubie to land is in Mary's arms, their "girl", their black maid who functions as Jubie's anchor. Reading the dscription, I knew there was tragedy ahead and the suspense just kept me on edge. When the moment finally came, I just wanted to scream at all of them to run and then scream again to berate them for their naivete - how could they not see it coming when my stomach had been in knots for hours? What a good book! Kudos to Anna Jean Mayhew for a wondeeful debu tnovel and thank you's to Kathy for hosting the giveaway!

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










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

I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

From Goodreads:Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry the ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her 'happy ever after' begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring but in the panic that followed, she has now lost her phone. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect! Well, perfect except the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton doesn't agree. He wants his phone back and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life. What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other's lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents... she soon realises that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

This one was cute! It felt very modern because so much of it had to do with texting and e-mails and such. It also felt very predictable because, well, you know, I've read Sophie Kinsella before! But that didn't make me enjoy it any less. If you like her style, you will like this one.


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

Food Rules by Michael Pollan

From Goodreads: Michael Pollan, our nation's most trusted resource for food-related issues, offers this indispensible guide for anyone concerned about health and food. Simple, sensible, and easy to use, Food Rules is a set of memorable rules for eating wisely, many drawn from a variety of ethnic or cultural traditions. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat-buffet, this handy, pocket-size resource is the perfect guide for anyone who would like to become more mindful of the food we eat. This was a "read in a hour" little book that held more than an hour's worth of wisdom. If only it also came with some willpower! I don't know that I learned anything new but it is all stuff that I need reinforcment with. Some snippets were mini-lessons on foods and science and others were just humorous reminders like this one: "If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't." I am very reliant on both fast food and prepared foods but go through spurts of trying to do better. When I need a push to do better, this book will be a good inspiration - it's a keeper! This works for the following challenges -


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





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

Mailbox Monday - my book club's picks

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

My mailbox all came from an Amazon order I placed for my local book club's next few months of picks. I'm excited about all of them, I think these are good picks! Here's what we're reading....

For April....
From Goodreads: The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountains—but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons' intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning.


For May.....
From Goodreads: Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.

For June......
From Goodreads: This first novel in a new trilogy from bestselling author Trigiani offers a heartwarming and hilarious story of Valentine Roncalli and the decades-old family business she struggles to save, finding love and the life she wants along the way.

Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brasheres

From Goodreads: Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget have grown up, starting their lives on their own. And though the jeans they shared are long gone, the sisterhood is everlasting.

Despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness.

Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

I raced through all the Traveling Pants books in my pre-blogging days. I wouldn't say I loved them - there were parts that I wasn't thrilled my young daughter was reading - but they were one of those "cultural literacy" kind of things. Everyone was reading them so you really just had to in order to be part of the discussion. Along the way I did grow fond of those girls so I couldn't resist picking this one up when I saw it at the library while I was looking for something much more scholarly - Hemingway's A Moveable Feast (which I'll mention when I write about our book club reading The Paris Wife). So I went in to the library for literary greatness and came out with fluff and, of course, sat down and proceeded to read the fluff straight through that very night. It was sentimental sap and I cried all the way through and I guessed the big secret almost as soon as I opened the book and I am glad I didn't pay money for it.....but I am also glad I read it. It satisfied my curiosity completely and like going to your high school reunion, it's just fun to know how everyone turns out all those years later!

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

The Shadow of Your Smile by Mary Higgins Clark

From Goodreads: At age eighty-two and in failing health, Olivia Morrow knows she has little time left. The last of her line, she faces a momentous choice: expose a long-held family secret, or take it with her to her grave. Olivia has in her possession letters from her deceased cousin Catherine, a nun, now being considered for beatification by the Catholic Church--the final step before sainthood. The letters Olivia holds are the evidence that Catherine gave birth at age seventeen to a child, a son, and gave him up for adoption. Olivia knows the identity of the young man who fathered Catherine's child: Alex Gannon, who went on to become a world-famous doctor, scientist, and inventor holding medical patents.

Now, two generations later, thirty-one-year-old pediatrician Dr. Monica Farrell, Catherine's granddaughter, stands as the rightful heir to what remains of the family fortune. But in telling Monica who she really is, Olivia would have to betray Catherine's wishes and reveal the story behind Monica's ancestry. To silence Olivia and prevent Monica from learning the secret, some will stop at nothing--even murder.

My track record with Mary Higins Clark has been kind of spotty the last few years, I even wondered if maybe she was just past the point of writing books I would truly enjoy. But this one was a winner. I really had to trim down the description from Goodreads because there is so much going on in this book - plots and sub-plots and sub-sub-plots. She still laid it all out pretty simplistically so it remains the easy read that you expect from a MHC but easy with oomph if that makes any sense! Good mystery that I didn't have completely figured out too soon!

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

Mailbox Monday

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



From Goodreads: In this beautifully written debut, Anna Jean Mayhew offers a riveting depiction of Southern life in the throes of segregation, what it will mean for a young girl on her way to adulthood--and for the woman who means the world to her. . .
On a scorching day in August 1954, thirteen-year-old Jubie Watts leaves Charlotte, North Carolina, with her family for a Florida vacation.

This was a win from Kathy at Bermudaonion's Weblog. I have already started it and I am loving it! What the description above doesn't mention but is on the back of the book is that a tragedy occurs so every minute is that combination of enjoyment and dread anticipating the how and when of that tragedy. I love Southern fiction and this one, thus far, is a treat!


From Goodreads: From Thomas Jefferson's birth in 1743 to the California Gold rush in 1849, America's Manifest Destiny comes to life in Morgan 's skilled hands. Jefferson, a naturalist and visionary, dreamed that the U.S. would stretch across the continent. The account of how that dream became reality unfolds in the stories of Jefferson and nine other Americans whose adventurous spirits and lust for land pushed the westward boundaries.

This was a win from the Library Thing early reviewer program. Awhile back,  I had high hopes that I would improve myself (become a smarty pants) by reading my way through the presidents with the  U.S. Presidents Reading Project. Well that was 2008 and now, four years later, I am still on our third president (Thomas Jefferson for those of you who are even less smarty pants than me) so that goal has not exactly panned out. This book would seem to fall into that category of books that would make me a better person so I am just hoping it is also enjoyable!

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian

From Goodreads: In January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines. Among the group is eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family’s farm as forced labor. And there is a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred–who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz. As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna’s and Callum’s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred–assuming any of them even survive.

LOVED IT! I think this is my favorite thus far for 2012 (I know it's only March but it really was that good!). I've read books before about the Second World War and the terror of the Nazi's and the plight of the Jews but there always seems to be more to be explored. This book explores the time from the perspective of a German family that are initially Nazi supporters but slowly discover the hideous barbarity being perpetuated. There were several instances in this book where I wondered if the described events were more history than fiction. At one point the Jew, Uri, goes into hiding in the woods where it is rumored a whole community of Jews are living; well, I seem to remember a book or a movie with that scenario at the core, so maybe it is true? True or not, it was fascinating. I cared deeply for the characters and while I wanted the war to end, I didn't want the story to end.



I have another book of his, Midwives, in my TBR pile, I might have to dig it out and put it closer to the top!

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










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

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier

From Goodreads: Never before published in the United States, this first novel is released by the critically acclaimed author of "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "Falling Angels." Readers meet Ella Turner and Isabelle du Moulin--two women born centuries apart, yet bound by a fateful family legacy.

This story would have been wonderful except for one big struggle for me. The idea of the story was great, the characters in both the present day story and the historical part were interesting, I loved all of that. What spoiled it for me, was the style of writing the author used for the 400 years ago story. She didn't use quotation marks and a traditional format of he said/she said. She just used a dash and then the dialogue followed without attributing it to the speaker so you had to puzzle it out. I'm sure it flowed beautifully in the author's head because she had the advantage of always knowing who was talking but it was awkward for me, awkward enough to put this at the bottom of my Tracy Chevalier list. Remarkable Creatures is in first place, Burning Bright, and The Girl With the Pearl Earring are tied for second place and this one is last!
This works for the following challenges -


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





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

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

From Goodreads: Tia and Mike Baye never imagined they'd become the type of overprotective parents who spy on their kids. But their sixteen-year-old son Adam has been unusually distant lately, and after the suicide of his classmate Spencer Hill - the latest in a string of issues at school - they can't help but worry. They install a sophisticated spy program on Adam's computer, and within days they are jolted by a message from an unknown correspondent addressed to their son - 'Just stay quiet and all safe.'

Meanwhile, browsing through an online memorial for Spencer put together by his classmates, Betsy Hill is struck by a photo that appears to have been taken on the night of her son's death and he wasn't alone. She thinks it is Adam Baye standing just outside the camera's range; but when Adam goes missing, it soon becomes clear that something deep and sinister has infected their community. For Tia and Mike Baye, the question they must answer is this; When it comes to your kids, is it possible to know too much?

I read the horror book Duma Key by Stephen King last month and laughed off the walking dead, they didn't scare me. But this book by Harlan Coben, with the teeneage boys and suicide and drugs, scared the bejeezus out of me. Listening to the parents worry about their son as he slips away from them into a world of drugs made me physically ill - stomach in turmoil, muscles tense, it was frightening. There was more than one storyline and when the narration would switch from the reckless teens to the sadistic killer, I would breathe a sigh of relief, "yes, let's chop this lady into small pieces" THAT I can handle. It's all about perspective isn't it? Tween now Teen has such struggles with depression and self-injury and experimentation with drugs - this book just captured the parent's misery (my misery) of worrying about your child and feeling helpless. Having gone through two suicidal instances with Teen this fall, I really wondered if I could make it through this book, but I did; Harlan Coben keeps things moving at such a fast pace that it just keeps you listening. I did only give it four stars on Goodreads because the preachiness of the whole "Should you monitor your kids using technology?" debate was tiresome and the multiple plot lines coming all together was a bit of a stretch - but overall this was a fast paced thrilling read, but perhaps, a bit too close for comfort for me.

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










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

Barrel Fever by David Sedaris

From Goodreads: In David Sedaris's world no one is safe and no cow is sacred. A manic cross between Mark Leyner, Fran Liebowitz, and the National Enquirer, Sedaris's collection of stories and essays is a rollicking tour through the national Zeitgeist: a do-it-yourself suburban dad saves money by performing home surgery; a man who is loved too much flees the heavyweight champion of the world; a bitter Santa abuses the elves; a teenage suicide tries to incite a lynch mob at her funeral.

My least favorite David Sedaris book - that was unexpected! I thought Barrel Fever would be just as much of a fun romp as all his other books I have read (and loved!) but it just wasn't. I had to push myself not to lose focus in order to finish some of the beginning stories, flipping forward to see how much longer it would go on. How did this happen? Well, this is (from what I can figure looking online) his earliest book and it has a different feel from his later books in that the bulk of the book is stories that aren't autobiographical but are complete fantasy - that made them hard for me to follow - Who's talking? What's real? What's made up? And it felt like he was trying too hard to be funny and edgy instead of the natural storyteller ease his later works have. Everything changes with the last quarter of the book with the title story "Barrel Fever", and then (YES!) four essays "Diary of a Smoker", "Giantess", "The Curly Kind" and "The Santaland Diaries" - those five made it worth plowing through the rest of it. So now I know - I like David Sedaris' essays, I don't like David Sedaris' stories.

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

The Lonely Mile by Allen Leverone

From Goodreads: When struggling hardware store owner Bill Ferguson witnesses a kidnapping in progress, he reacts instinctively, breaking up the crime and saving a young girl. But the kidnapper, a sociopath known as the “I-90 Killer,” escapes and vows revenge, targeting Ferguson’s own daughter as his next victim. Now one terrified father must unravel a plot that may go much deeper than he realizes, racing against time to save his only child from an unthinkable fate.

Sooo, these Kindle freebies are quite the crap shoot - this time I came up even. It was not bad (like some others), it was not outstanding (like maybe one or two over the past few years), it was good. The plot was good - not too intricate but complex enough that it held a surprise, the characters weren't incredibly developed but they were basically believable and somewhat interesting and varied from likable to incredibly creepy, and the suspense/mystery/action definitely held my attention. This was one of the times that I didn't feel like I was just plowing through to find out what happened - I enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading, my time felt well-spent!

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





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





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

When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmerelda Santiago

From Amazon: Esmeralda Santiago's story begins in rural Puerto Rico, where her childhood was full of both tenderness and domestic strife, tropical sounds and sights as well as poverty. Growing up, she learned the proper way to eat a guava, the sound of tree frogs in the mango groves at night, the taste of the delectable sausage called morcilla, and the formula for ushering a dead baby's soul to heaven. As she enters school we see the clash, both hilarious and fierce, of Puerto Rican and Yankee culture. When her mother, Mami, a force of nature, takes off to New York with her seven, soon to be eleven children, Esmeralda, the oldest, must learn new rules, a new language, and eventually take on a new identity. In this first volume of her much-praised, bestselling trilogy, Santiago brilliantly recreates the idyllic landscape and tumultuous family life of her earliest years and her tremendous journey from the barrio to Brooklyn, from translating for her mother at the welfare office to high honors at Harvard.

I expected to like this one more than I did. I certainly respect the author for living the life she did, accomplishing so much, and then writing it all down to share (better than I ever could) but it just didn't flow for me. In the beginning as she is writing about her early childhood, the writing is this strange combination of really vivid images but a childlike voice. She also throws in a lot of Spanish vocabulary throughout the book; there is a glossary at the back but I am not a "go to the glossary" kind of girl, more of a "skip over it and be a little confused" girl. Finally there is a gap at the end - she gets accepted to a magnet high school and bang she's in Harvard. I know she had to stop - the book would have been double the size if she kept going, but it just seemed like it could have been done more gracefully. I blame her editor for that one.

This is not a book I would have picked up on my own, I hadn't heard of it on blogs or in other media. It was the book pick for an online book club I am a part of with some sorority sisters from college. I'm glad it was a pick - it gave me a glimpse into Puerto Rican culture that felt real and was memorable. But I felt like a doting aunt reading it - you are enjoying it because you are proud of this girl for her accomplishments but not because it is fascinating and you can't wait to turn the page.

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

The Day of the Storm by Rosamunde Pilcher

From Goodreads: On the last day of her mother's life, Rebecca learns she has a family in Cornwall, and sets out to find the grandfather and cousin she has never known. But only the enigmatic Joss Gardner, the outsider who seems to be the apple of her grandfather's eye, can help her understand the dark currents that lie behind her family's loving reception.

After being dissapointed with Wild Mountain Thyme last month, I had to get back on the Rosamunde Pilcher horse and try again. I'm so glad I did; this one was a pleasure. The circumstances were fantastical - the death bed revelations, the stranger in an unexpected place and then, who would have thought, he turns up again in a completely different town - but a fun kind of fantastical. You just set aside disbelief and let the setting and sweetness of it all carry you through. Nice romance, gentle mystery, and a little family dysfunction - loved it!

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

Duma Key by Stephen King

From Goodreads: Six months after a crane crushes his pickup truck and his body self-made millionaire Edgar Freemantle launches into a new life. His wife asked for a divorce after he stabbed her with a plastic knife and tried to strangle her one-handed (he lost his arm and for a time his rational brain in the accident). He divides his wealth into four equal parts for his wife, his two daughters, himself and leaves Minnesota for Duma Key, a stunningly beautiful, eerily remote stretch of the Florida coast where he has rented a house. All of the land on Duma Key, and the few houses, are owned by Elizabeth Eastlake, an octogenarian whose tragic and mysterious past unfolds perilously. When Edgar begins to paint, his formidable talent seems to come from someplace outside him, and the paintings, many of them, have a power that cannot be controlled.

I think I read Carrie in high school, I know I saw the movie. And I think I read Christine too. That's the total of my Stephen King experience prior to Duma Key so my expectations came more from my own imagination than from any actual experience - I was expecting violence, shock and harsh fear. I didn't get that; I got characters that I actually cared about and day to day lives with friendships and banter and ease and families with the resulting relationship issues. But all of those good things were floating along on this undercurrent of dread - that's the Stephen King part, knowing there is something coming. I liked what I got much more than what I had expected to get! 23 hours on audio and I was still kind of sad for it to end.

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


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

Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens

From Goodreads: Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.

So bad, so very very bad....and yet there are 458 5-star reviews on Goodreads so maybe it's just me? I thought I would like this one because it has a family dealing with autism, a subject near and dear to my special education entrenched heart. But that was just a small part of the story. And it had teens doing bad things like drinking and drugs - hmm, a little bit of that around here these days as well (heavy sigh). But again - that was just a little part. It seemed like everything that interested me was just a side note to Zoe, the human girl, and Matthias, the angel, pining away for each other - yuck! It was torture to finish but I kept going thinking, "It has got to get better," but it never did. Needless to say I won't be picking up the next one in the series but the author needn't worry because hundreds of other folks will!

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