Eden Close by Anita Shreve

From the back cover: Andrew, after many years away, returns to his hometown to attend his mother's funeral. Planning to remain only a few days, he is drawn into the tragic legacy of his childhood friend and beautiful girl next door, Eden Close. An adopted child, Eden had learned to avoid the mother who did not want her and to please the father who did. She also aimed to please Andrew and his friends, first by being one of the boys and later by seducing them. Then one hot night, Andrew was awakened by gunshots and piercing screams from the next farm: Mr. Close had been killed and Eden blinded. Now, seventeen years later, Andrew begins to uncover the grisly story - to unravel the layers of thwarted love between the husband, wife, and tormented girl. And, as truth about Eden's past comes to light, so too does Andrew's strange and binding attachment to her reveal itself.

Now this was a good Anita Shreve book! You would think with a TBR pile that is more mountain than pile, that I would not dare to read "off list". But Anita Shreve calls out to me. I was not enamoured of Weight of Water, a little bit meh about The Last Time They Met, and Wedding in December was just OK. But I held onto the great pleasure I got from The Pilot's Wife and from Sea Glass and just knew she had a voice that I loved. Well, this is right back to what I like about her. There are stunning revelations - none of which I will reveal here - although I will say that I nailed one fairly early on - yeah me. I love the story switching back and forth from present day to Andrew's memory with the memories revealing details that then color the interactions Andrew has with the people he sees every day while he goes about the work after the funeral of settling his mother's estate. I tend to be a linear writer - if I tell a story it is from point A to point B and point C without deviation. I think Anita's Shreve's writing in that regard is artful. I'm so glad I deviated from my TBR list... this was a treat.

This book is my "E" for the A-Z Reading Challenge!Click on the logo to see my progress.

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

From the back cover: "I wonder this: If you take a woman and push her to the edge, how will she behave?" The question is posed by Jean, a photographer, who in 1995 arrives on Smuttynose Island, off the coast of Maine, to research a century-old crime. As she immerses herself in the details of the case - an outburst of passion that resulted in the deaths of two women - Jean herself enters precarious emotional testimony. The suspicion that her husband is having an affair burgeons into jealousy and distrust, and ultimately propels Jean to the verge of actions she had not known herself capable of - actions with horrific consequences.

Oops I did it again..cue Brittney Spears. I can't believe that another book that I read and didn't particularly like accidentally cycled back into my TBR (to be read) pile and, even worse, then onto my Fall Into Reading Challenge List - and made the top 10! This would give you an impression that my house is in such a state of disorganization that I should immediately get off the Internet and go clean. That may be partly true. But also, how do you account for my flipping through some pages and reading the back cover to check it out and assessing it as a "Top 10" on my list of TBR books after I have already read it?! No retention whatsoever of what I have read? Apparently. So the short version is...didn't like it very much then, don't like it very much now. For the long version, keep reading.


Anita Shreve writes some great stuff...Sea Glass and The Pilot's Wife were favorites of mine. With this book, Weight of Water, Anita did double duty because she really wrote two stories at once. First was the story set in present day of the photographer going off on her adventure and the relationships with the people along the way. (BTW - LOVE that story!). But then she includes the sub-story of the history of the island and a murder that happened there among Norwegian immigrants. This story would seem to have to the makings of something that would really interest me. It's set in Maine - I've lived there! It's about Norwegian immigrants - my family tree is solidly rooted in Norwegian immigrants. The Norwegian aspect would usually be enough to capture me right there. I am always trying to form a more detailed mental picture of Norwegians. You know other ethnic groups have such a defined image - say Irish immigrant - the red hair, the brogue, the melancholy funeral songs all leap to mind, say Italian immigrant - big bosomed women, pasta, randy, handsome men - but say Norwegian immigrants and ...blank - not much there to establish your cultural identity. But even that wasn't enough to intrigue me. I just didn't like the sub-story. So as a result, I just didn't like - half the book!

The half I did like - the modern story - was right up my alley. I would like to read more about these people. When it ended I sighed, wishing the story would go on. That may be how this book ended up back in my TBR pile. Maybe there was a part of me that said, "Anita Shreve is such a good story teller, you need to try that again, Round File, and see if you can't get more interested in those Norwegians." Well I tried, and I couldn't. But if you don't feel you need to get your money's worth by reading a whole book - half of this one is excellent - thumb up.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday hosted by Marcia at The Printed Page is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.


I've never partcipated in this meme before but I had such a great haul from the library book sale this weekend that I just had to share it and I decided this was the perfect forum!



Here's what we have from the bottom up:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle Saw this one on other blogs - wish I could remember which ones so I could give credit...you know who you are!
Daddy's Little Girl by Mary Higgins Clark One I don't have from one of my favorite authors.
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
One Thousand White Women Just saw a review of this one but, again, can't remember where!
Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve
Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs I've enjoyed the two books I have read already - Running with Scissors and Dry.
The Faith Club and Abraham by Bruce Feiler Abraham is a reread for me but I liked the idea of reading these two together. I loved Abraham when I read it but then never could get into his other big book, Walking the Bible. I had given away my copy of Abraham after I reda it so I was happy to find this one. First I found it for four dollars and then about six inches down the row, I found it again for just one dollar - even better! I love how the prices can be so different depending on which volunteer did it!Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout Another blog find that I can't remember where to give credit to...
Body Surfing by Anita Shreve Love Anita Shreve - usually.
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion Again with the "saw it on a blog" but " can't remember where".
Good Dog, Stay by Anna Quindlen I'm not sure about this one - looks like a gift book you buy at the drugstore when you don't have a present. I'll hope for the best.

Rescue by Anita Shreve

From Goodreads: A rookie paramedic pulls a young woman alive from her totaled car, a first rescue that begins a lifelong tangle of love and wreckage. Sheila Arsenault is a gorgeous enigma--streetwise and tough-talking, with haunted eyes, fierce desires, and a never-look-back determination. Peter Webster, as straight an arrow as they come, falls for her instantly and entirely. Soon Sheila and Peter are embroiled in an intense love affair, married, and parents to a baby daughter. Like the crash that brought them together, it all happened so fast.

This was typical Anita Shreve in that it was all about the relationships within the family. When it comes to me and those relationship stories, the more dysfunctional the family, the better and Shreve did not disappoint! You usually think of the good girl falling for the bad boy so this upside down version with the steady, good dad and wild wife was a nice twist. I have to say Webster, the dad, was an appealing character - nothing is sexier to me than a man who is a good dad and holds down a steady job! I had a hard time getting started with this one. The narrator was just not my cup of tea. He is apparently just the right thing for a lot of other people because the back cover had all sorts of awards that he had won for his narration. I felt like he started every sentence with breathy excitement and then trailed off - even the most mundane of offerings was the same urgent beginning and waning ending - I almost gave up before I got through disc one because I found it such a distraction. But I persevered and I am glad I did. Once I got hooked into the story, I enjoyed it a lot.

Testimony by Anita Shreve

From the Amazon product description: At a New England boarding school, a sex scandal is about to break. Even more shocking than the sexual acts themselves is the fact that they were caught on videotape. A Pandora's box of revelations, the tape triggers a chorus of voices--those of the men, women, teenagers, and parents involved in the scandal--that details the ways in which lives can be derailed or destroyed in one foolish moment.

This was a hard book to read for a couple of reasons. The first has to do with the format of the book. Told in ever changing viewpoints from over a dozen people, it is just difficult to switch gears so frequently. The second reason is the subject matter, there isn't any prettying up the acts that were committed, Shreve only tries at the very end in the last few pages to find some good in the situation, a shred of redemption. The entire book other than those few pages is just watching the relationships in the story go from bad to worse and wondering when the last layer of the story is going to be peeled back so all is revealed and we've hit rock bottom. But the reason most of all that the book was hard to read was how much I aligned myself with the character who was mother to the boy who had potential and threw it all away. It was my worst fears for Tween played out and all the mother's emotions of guilt and love and confusion are things I felt right along with her. She tried to do what she thought was best for her son and he still made the wrong choice with devastating consequences. All the possibilities of the things that could go wrong for Tween keep me in a state of perpetual worry as I try to shield him and the thought is always hanging there, what if my best isn’t good enough? So this book gave me a knot in my stomach as I read it but I kept going, I can't say I had to know the ending because it is one of those books that opens with the "end" and then goes back and reveals the details through recollections but I had to know more. I still would like to know more, I'd like to see how everyone ends up years later. This book, Testimony, is not going on my list of favorite Anita Shreve books but it's not one I am going to forget either so I think that says something!

Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

From Goodreads: Walking in the snow near their New Hampshire home, a father and daughter come upon an abandoned infant, wrapped in a bloody towel. For the father, this chance discovery reopens a wound: Two years before, he had lost his wife and toddler daughter in a car crash. Now the chance finding of the baby places him on a winding path toward healing.

Anita Shreve is usually a sure bet for me, there have been a few duds but I find most of her books compelling, I want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens. This would fall more in the compelling category than in the dud category but it wasn't a flat out hit. I appreciated the trauma that affected all the characters but there was so much pain amongst them all that it just weighed me down. It felt like there wasn't anything but their pain, that one dimensional characterization just didn't make them very interesting. The plot - the loss, finding the baby and all that follows are really interesting story lines, but the people just weren't very likable and that makes the story less engaging for me.

Why I Need to Quit My Job

Things have gotten a little out of hand with my TBR pile. I'm going to have to whittle this down. I've joined some reading challenges and some I am just going to have to pass on. I'll keep you posted!

A Green Desire by Myner, novel
A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen, reflection
A Son of the Circus by John Irving, novel
A Sudden Change of Heart by Brabara Taylor Bradford, novel
A Theory of Relativity by Jacquelin Mitchard, novel
A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons, novel
A Woman of Substanance by Barbara Taylor Bradford, novel
Another City, Not My Own by Dominick Dunne, novel
Anyone But you by Jennifer Cruise, novel
Audacity of Hope, The by Barack Obama, non-fiction politics
**U.S. President's Reading Challenge
Bet Me by Jennifer Cruise, novel
Blood Orange by Druscilla Campbell, novel
Blue Bedspread, The by Jha, novel
Bluest eye, The by Toni Morison, novel
Boleyn Inheritance, The by Phillipa Gregory, historical fiction
Brethenm The by John Grisham, novel
Call No Man Father by William X. Kienzle, novel
Cat and Mouse by James Patterson, novel
China Card, The by James Erlichman, novel
Choke by Stuart Woods, novel
Cider House Rules by John Irving, novel
Color of Water, The by James McBride, memoir
Coming Attractions by Fannie Flagg, novel
Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher, novel
Day of Drums by Philip Shelby, novel
Dear Mem Fox by Mem Fox, memoir
Devil in the Junior League, The by Linda Francis Lee, novel
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee, novel
Doubel Take by Catherine Coulter, novel
Dry by Augustne Burroughs, memoir
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, novel
End of Summer, The by Rosamunde Pilcher, novel
Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier, historical fiction
Fat Tuesday by Sandra Brown,novel
Fried Eggs With Chopsticks by Polly Evans, travel
From Beginning to End by Robert fulghum, essays
Gap Creek by Robert Morgan, novel
Greatest Generation, The by Tom Brokaw, non-fiction history
Hanna's Daughters by Marianne Frederikson, novel
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman, novel
History of God by Armstrong, non-fiction religion
Hours, The by Michael Cunningham, novel
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubuis III, novel
Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubis, novel
In the Shadow of the Crown: The Story of Mary Tudor by Jean Plaidy, historical fiction
Jack and Jill by James Patterson, novel
Jane Austen Book Club by Fowler, novel
John Adams by David Mccullough, historical fiction
**U.S. President's Reading Project
Johnny Tremain by Esther forbes, kids lit
Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado, non-fiction religion
Killshot by Elmore Leonard, novel
Kiss the Girls by James Patterson, novel
Kitchen Priveleges by Mary Higgins Clark, memoir
Lords of Discipline, The by Pat Conroy, novel
Many Aspects of Mobile Home Living by Martin Clark, novel
Mary, Mary by James Patterson, novel
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, essays
Mexico by James Michener, novel
Midwives by Chris Bohijalian, novel
My Losing Season by Pat Conroy, memoir
New Testament, The by John Grisham, novel
Other Boleyn Girl, The by Philippa Gregory, historical fiction
Partner, The by John Grisham, novel
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, historical fiction
Praying For My Life by Marion Bond West, memoir
Rainmaker, The by John Grisham, novel
Ralph's Party by Lisa Jewell, novel
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, memoir
Red Tent, The by Anita Diamant, novel
Run With the Horsemen by Ferrol Sams, novel
Running With the Devil by Steve Kissing, memoir
S. by John Updike, novel
Shiloh, Shiloh Season, Saving Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, kids lit
Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen, novel
Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris, novel
Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, The by Anne Fadiman, non-fiction culture
Starting Out in the Evening by Brian Morton, novel
Stone Diaries, The by Carol Shields, novel
Sunday Wife, The by Cassandra King, novel
Surrender the Pink by Carrie Fisher, novel
Thinking Out Loud by Anna Quindlen, essays
Thirteenth Tale, The by Diane Setterfield, novel
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald, novel
Thorn Birds, The by Colleen McCullough, novel
Thy Brother's Wife by Andrew Greeeley, novel
Tipping Point, The by Macolm Gladwell, non-fiction business
'Tis by Frank McCourt, memoir
Twelth Card, The by Jeffreu Deaver, novel
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, novel
Under the Tuscan Sun by Francis Mayer, novel
Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwall, novel
Watership Down by Richard Adams, novel
We Wish to Let You Know That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch, non-fiction history
What Is Mine by Anne Holt, novel
When All the World Was Young by Ferrol Sams, novel
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris, essays
Where or When by Anita Shreve, novel
Where You Belong by Barbara Taylor Bradford, novel
While I Was Gone by Sue Miller, novel
Whisperer of the River by Ferrol Sams, novel
Winter People, The by Phyllis Whitnet, novel
World Is Flat, The by Friedman, non-fiction politics
Year of Dreams by Gloria Goldreid, novel
Year of Pleasure by Elizabeth Berg, novel

Mailbox Monday

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

I've had a lucky streak and won two great audiobooks and I also was gifted a scratch off lottery ticket and won 50 bucks - it's been a good week!


From the author's website: John Carr, aka Oliver Stone—once the most skilled assassin his country ever had—stands in Lafayette Park in front of the White House, perhaps for the last time. The President has personally requested that Stone serve his country again on a high-risk covert mission. Though he’s fought for decades to leave his past career behind, Stone has no choice but to say yes.

But Stone’s mission changes drastically before it even begins. It’s the night of a State Dinner honoring the British Prime Minister. As he watches the Prime Minister’s motorcade leave the White House that evening, a bomb is detonated in Lafayette Park, an apparent terrorist attack against both the President and the Prime Minister. It’s in this chaotic aftermath that Stone takes on a new, more urgent assignment: find those responsible for the bombing.   I love David Baldacci on audio and this one is narrated by Ron McLarty who I think is just great. Should be a good read all around. This book was a win from Kathy at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, thank you, Kathy!

From Goodreads: A rookie paramedic pulls a young woman alive from her totaled car, a first rescue that begins a lifelong tangle of love and wreckage. Sheila Arsenault is a gorgeous enigma--streetwise and tough-talking, with haunted eyes, fierce desires, and a never-look-back determination. Peter Webster, as straight an arrow as they come, falls for her instantly and entirely. Soon Sheila and Peter are embroiled in an intense love affair, married, and parents to a baby daughter. Like the crash that brought them together, it all happened so fast. Anita Shreve is one of my favorites so I was thrilled when thsi one came. I've never listened to one of her books on audio before and was surprised to see ths one was narrated by a man - interesting. This book was a win from Teddy Rose at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time, thank you, Teddy!

A-Z Reading Challenge

I've signed up for this challenge using ...Option B: Read titles A to Z. Commit to reading 26 books theoretically speaking.






Here's where I'll keep track of my progress.
A- Amethyst Dreams by Phyllis Whitney
B- Burning Bright by Tracey Chevalier
C- Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitgerald
D- Dry by Augusten Burroughs
E- Eden Close by Anita Shreve
F- Fourth of July by James Patterson
G- Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
H- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I- Isle of Palms by Dorothea Benton Frank
J- Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark
K- Kitchen Privileges by Mary Higgins Clark
L- Lowcountry by Anne Rivers Siddons
M- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
N- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
O- One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell
P- The Power of Simple Prayer by Joyce Meyer
Q- The Quiet American by Graham Greene
R- Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
S- Soul Catcher by Michael White
T- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
U- Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson
V- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
W- When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
X- The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson
Y- The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
Z- Zapped by Carol Higgins Clark

Entertainment Overload

I feel like I should be scooping bits of gray matter off the floor as I type. Surely my brain has exploded. I have stuffed it with so much "input" the past week that I feel headachy! I've been on a book binge. Some sort of colonic of the head after 1776 - I've picked up new books by all my old favorite authors - books that you can read in an afternoon and I've read one of them each afternoon until the words are swimming on the page. I know there are bloggers out there dedicated to books that do that on a regular basis but it's a bit much for me.

And I've been pursuing the Holiday Movie Marathon - three full length features at the theater in three days. I started out with a girlfriend at The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - at a whopping two hours forty-eight minutes that almost counts as 1.5 movies. Then Youngest and I saw High School Musical 3 and the next day, Bedtime Stories. None will make my Favorite Movie A-Z list but they were a fun diversion during the long vacation days.

And I've been playing like a fiend on Facebook. My bro and I are trading top spots on the geography game which actually requires a bit of brain power for me - geography is not my strong suit and there's a whole section on flags, some from countries I've never even heard of.

So that's my exploding skull scenario - too much stuff to stuff into this tiny brain. I'm reading furiously the "last book", an Anita Shreve which I'm half way through and have just now figured out has a character that was also in Weight of Water which I DID NOT LIKE (twice). So I'm a little perturbed but trying to keep going and keep an open mind. This is the end, the last book, before I settle back into reality - what with going back to work tomorrow AND my book club selection arrived from Amazon and it's a historical fiction about Frank Lloyd Wright which sounds interesting but will be more difficult reading than the all the lazy afternoon ladies I've been spending my days with.

A-Z Reading Challenge 2009 completed!

Hooray! I finished the challenge.
I wasn't sure when I started this challenge that I would be able to finish it so I am happy and proud that I did. I know one thing, if I come across a good "X" or "Z" book in the next few months, I'm saving it for 2010! Here's what I read to complete the challenge, You can click on the logo to check out the other folks who participated. Thank you so much to the organizers of the challenge - it was a pleasure to be a part of it!


A- Amethyst Dreams by Phyllis Whitney
B- Burning Bright by Tracey Chevalier
C- Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitgerald
D- Dry by Augusten Burroughs
E- Eden Close by Anita Shreve
F- Fourth of July by James Patterson
G- Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner
H- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I- Isle of Palms by Dorothea Benton Frank
J- Just Take My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark
K- Kitchen Privileges by Mary Higgins Clark
L- Lowcountry by Anne Rivers Siddons
M- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
N- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
O- One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell
P- The Power of Simple Prayer by Joyce Meyer
Q- The Quiet American by Graham Greene
R- Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
S- Soul Catcher by Michael White
T- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
U- Undead and Unreturnable by MaryJanice Davidson
V- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
W- When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
X- The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson
Y- The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
Z- Zapped by Carol Higgins Clark

Fall Into Reading Wrap Up

"My guesstimate of what I will accomplish between now and Christmas - maybe the first four - and then The Pillars of the Earth will do me in and it will all come to a grinding halt.."

Those are my words from September. I did better than I thought I would! I did end up deviating from my original list and if you counted the ones I read since I completely abandoned my original list, I'd look even better! (There's a reason those books on my original list are lingering in my TBR pile - the grass is always greener.)

My favorite book from the challenge was Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard. It was an emotional tale and just wrung me out with crying which is just a good thing every now and again. I'll remember that story while even now looking at some of the other titles, I couldn't do a plot summary without grabbing for the book to review.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first foray into a reading challenge. And this one was such a laid back "come as you are" affair that it was the perfect, no stress beginning for me. Thank you to Katrina for hosting..I'll be back!

Here's what I accomplished -

The Tent by Gary Paulsen

A kids lit book - not as good as his others.




The Gravedigger’s Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates

Didn't care for this one but plowed through.





Object Lessons by Anna Quindlen

Another dud.




Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy


Typical Maeve Binchy - gently entertaining.




Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard


My favorite.




The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve


Ugh - not a good one for me.




Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I did end up skipping this one - not sure why I find it so intimidating.







The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard


Good but not her best - that would be Deep End of the Ocean followed closely by Cage of Stars!




Wallflower at the Orgy by Nora Ephron

Interesting collection of magazine articles from the late 60's - fun peek into the culture of the times.

Fall Into Reading 2008: Time to Read!

A fall ritual here in my town is the annual Friends of the Library book sale. I took DD Bookworm over the weekend and she stocked up on bags and bags of books. I bought just a handful although there were dozens that caught my eye. Why? Because I have a glut of books sitting on the shelves waiting to be read. It's not the current best sellers - it's the two years ago best sellers that I can now pick up for a quarter at a sale or at a thrift shop. So I was considering a post with a list of all the books that are sitting in the order that I think I want to read them. I envisioned the list with me going back to "cross off' the ones that I had finished - a testament to my reading stamina. And, of course, like the rest of my blog, it would be just for me - I'm alone out here in cyberspace you know!

But then I visited a blog on my Google reader that was participating in Fall Into Reading 2008: Time to Read! and it was a perfect fit for my state of mind. So I am joining a community. Which probably means I should edit my profile so it says something! I'm excited to see what everybody is reading. I can't wait to compare notes if there are any crossovers - that would mean someone else out there is as behind in their reading as me - boy, wouldn't that make me feel better! Improved self-esteem coming right up.

So, here's my list of fiction books that I have on hand waiting to be read. I'm not including the non-fiction books that I have that I think I should read because they will make me smarter - I'm going to throw in the towel on those for awhile and not even pretend that I might read them. I'm also not including my "To Read for Work" pile. Those get read in the hours that my appointments don't show and I want to use "professional reading" as my project code on my time sheet rather than "sat in the parking lot and did Sudoku" - which for some reason my employer likes to consider as "annual leave". But here is what I do plan to read, in order, although it could change based on feedback from others! My quesstimate of what I will accomplish between now and Christmas - maybe the first four - and then The Pillars of the Earth will do me in and it will all come to a grinding halt - have you seen it? That book is like three inches thick in paperback! But everyone says I will love it.


The Tent by Gary Paulsen So I am totally cheating with this one - it's juvenile fiction. Youngest and I are reading it aloud together and we are about a third of the way through. I will probably read ahead and finish it tonight just to preview. Not only because I am curious about how the story progresses but also because there was a reference to sex in what we read today and that was pretty much more than I wanted to discuss with my third grader. I am definitely not opposed to smut in my fiction - the fact that I have to edit my donations to our church thrift shop is evidence to that effect. I'm just opposed to it in the fiction I'm listening to a third grader read! Those darn good readers - ready for the vocabulary, ready for the sentence structure, just not necessarily ready for the actual content. But I just looked ahead at that paragraph and said to him - "hmm, we'll just skip this part" and he was like, "Ooooh-kay." Apparently he doesn't really want to read smut with his mother around either. But I love Gary Paulsen - Hatchet, Brian's Winter, he's wonderful. How was I to know this one was a little further off the path?! Well, cheating or not, I expect by this time tomorrow, I will have a notch on my belt!

Here's the rest of the list.....
The Gravedigger’s Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates
From the back cover: Fleeing Nazi Germany in 1936, the Schwarts immigrate to a small town in upstate New York. Here the father - a former high school teacher - is demeaned by the only job he can get: gravedigger and cemetary caretaker. When local prejudice and the family's own emotional fraility give rise to an unthinkable tragedy, the gravedigger's daughter, Rebecca, heads out into America. Embarking upon an extraordianry odyssey of erotic risk and ingenius self-invention, she seeks renewal, redemption, and peace - on the road to a bittersweet and distinctly "American" triumph.

Object Lessons by Anna Quindlen
From the dust jacket: Young Maggie Scanlon begins to sense that, beneath the calm, everyday surface of her peaceful suburban life, everything is going mysteriously wrong. Her all-powerful grandfather is reduced to a shadow by a stroke, and to Maggie's astonishment this causes her usually unemotional father to burst into tears. And Connie, her lushly beautiful mother, who Maggie could always be sure of finding at home, is now rarely there. Her street smart cousin Monica and her best friend, Debbie, start doing things that leave her frightened about sex and sin. All theses shifts become so linked in Maggie's mind to the building of a housing development behind her home that, years later, whenever she smells "the peculiar odor of new construction, of pine planking and plastic plumbing pipes," Maggie will think back to this summer.

Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy
From the dust jacket: In a small Greek island village, a group of travelers from around the world and the local residents they encounter are brought together in unexpected ways when sudden tragedy strikes.


Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard
From the dust jacket: Twelve-year-old Veronica Swan’s idyllic life in a close-knit Mormon community is shattered when her two younger sisters are brutally murdered. Although her parents find the strength to forgive the deranged killer, Scott Early, Veronica cannot do the same.
Years later she sets out alone to avenge here sisters’ deaths, dropping her identity and severing ties in the process. But as she closes in on Early, Veronica will discover the true meaning of sin and compassion…before she makes a decision that will change her and her family forever.


The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
From the back cover: "I wonder this: If you take a woman and push her to the edge, how will she behave?" The question is posed by Jean, a photographer, who in 1995 arrives on Smuttynose Island, off the coast of Maine, to research a century-old crime. As she immerses herself in the details of the case - an outburst of passion that resulted in the deaths of two women - Jean herself enters precarious emotional testimony. The suspicion that her husband is having an affair burgeons into jealousy and distrust, and ultimately propels Jean to the verge of actions she had not known herself capable of - actions with horrific consequences.





Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

I'm skipping this one...it is SOOOOO LOOOONG! I think I need to save it for Thanksgiving when I'll have a few days off of work. Especially since everyone who recommends it says once you start, you can't put it down.

The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard

From the back cover: Giving advice is what Julieanne does for a living – every Sunday in an advice column in her local paper. But in her own life, Julieanne missed some clues. She is completely caught off guard when her husband, Leo, tells her he needs to go on a “sabbatical” from their life together, leaving Julie with three children. Things worsen when Julie is diagnosed with a serious illness and the children undertake a dangerous journey to find Leo – before it’s too late. As the known world sinks from view, the clan must work their way back to solid ground and to a new definition of family.

Wallflower at the Orgy by Nora Ephron

From the back cover..From her Academy Award-nominated screenplays to her bestselling fiction and essays, Nora Ephron is one of America's most gifted, prolific, and versatile writers. In this classic collection of magazine articles, Ephron does what she does best: embrace American culture with love, cynicism, and unmatched wit.


Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio


Double Take by Catherine Coulter


The Thorn Birds by Colleen Mccullough


Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher


The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

A Theory of Relativity by Jacquelyn Mitchard

Blood Orange by Drusilla Campbell

Reading Lolita In Tehran by Azar Nafisi

The Sunday Wife by Cassandra King

The Blue Bedspread by Raj Kamal Jha

The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

A Virtuous Woman by Kaye Gibbons

Out to Canaan by Jan Karon

The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

My Losing Season by Pat Conroy

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

Whew! I need some vacation - full time employment is just not conducive to full time book reading!