Quarterly Book Report

Say It Isn't So

It's April.  That means we are officially one fourth of the way through 2017!  Three months gone!!  How can that be?  I haven't even clearly defined my New Year's Resolutions!!! I know one of my resolutions was to write more blog posts. Yikes. I promise to get going with that one. So, before any more time goes by, I'd like to share with you the books I have read so far in 2017.  Since there are a number of them (another resolution - read more) I will not bore you and review them all, just present titles from the best to the worst and give a quick thumbs up or down.

Great Reads

The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh
👍👍👍👍👍 ( You gotta read this one)


The Book That Matters Most, Ann Hood
👍👍👍👍👍

Never Too Late: Your Roadmap to Reinvention (Without Getting Lost Along the Way), Claire Cook
👍👍👍👍

Nine Women, One Dress, Jane L. Rosen
👍👍👍👍

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, Amy Reichert
👍👍👍👍

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living, Louise Miller  👍👍

Not So Great Reads

Commonwealth, Ann Patchett
👎👎

Homegoing,Yaa Gyasi
👎👎 

They May Not Mean To But They Do, Colleen Schine
👎👎👎👎

May you have a fabulous remainder of 2017.  Hope this list gives you some food for thought.

Favorite Reads of 2016

My Top Five Books of 2016

This year I really tried to read at least two books a month.  As it turned out, I read 39! It feels good to complete and surpass a goal.  There were many books that I really enjoyed, a few that I dropped or just skimmed and one that I threw across the room.  But, I won't bore you with an entire list and will just share a bit about the top five that made my favorite list.  These are not in order of most to least favorite...that's just too much thinking to do...so here goes in random order:

Persuasion by Jane Austen
I think I liked this Austen novel even better than Pride and Prejudice. The unfulfilled longings of both main characters, Anne and Capt. Wentworth, were palpable from page one. Years earlier, Anne had been persuaded to break her engagement to Captain Wentworth because it was deemed an inappropriate match. She eventually finds the courage to stick a finger in the snotty eye of Victorian manners and be true to her feelings.  True love finally triumphs...doesn't that always make for a lovely story? And, of course, Austen's language and turn of phrase is simply luxurious.

The One-In-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood
Touching and heart-warming. In order to earn a Boy Scout service badge, a young boy does chores for Ona Victus, 104 years of age. They develop a very charming relationship...then one day the boy does not show up.  A few days later, the boy's father arrives to finish his son's chores. He learns more about his son and about himself as he too develops an unpredictable relationship with Ona. Don't miss this one!

Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
This book was on my to-read list for a long time.  When I finally got around to reading it, I was so glad that I did.  It was fun and touching at the same time. Bernadette Fox, the title character, is absent for most of the novel.  Instead the bulk of the plot revolves around Bee, Bernadette's 15-year-old daughter, who is trying to find her mother who simply disappears from the cruise ship that is taking them on a tour of Antarctica.  Hence...the title.  I so enjoyed this book, that I am eager to read Semple's most recent book, Today Will Be Different.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
OK...so I must confess, I truly do love all things Jane Austen.  So, when I saw that Eligible was a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, I just had to read it.  I must admit, I was anticipating a fairly silly story...how can you transplant those Victorian manners to 2016? But, I was totally delighted by the story.  A good story is a good story...great characters transcend time periods.  Nuff said!

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
A book about a bookshop?  You betcha! What more could a book-lover ask for? How about a book about a mobile bookshop, run by a librarian who has been put out of work because libraries and paper books are being digitally replaced?  How about a book set in a secluded village of Scotland where the residents are starving for books?  Jenny Colgan has given us book -lovers a book to hug!

So, that's my top-five list.  Hope some of these titles might spark an interest for you. I'd love to hear what you felt were your top reads of the year.  Leave a comment.  I'm making up a new to-read list for 2017 and could use a few new suggestions!  Happy Reading Everyone.

Reading Round-Up: February/March

February was a slow-reading month for me because I was involved with finishing my reading about the Constitution.  I read lot's of primary documents...which I just loved pouring over.  I was also slowed by several bad choices that I either dropped  or skimmed.  But, eventually I settled on a few good reads.  Here's the list:

The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd

This was one of the books I disliked. I read the first half and basically skimmed to the end and read the ending.  I was disappointed because I really liked The Secret Life of Bees and was expecting another good story.  I simply felt the story of the oppressed slave has been told over and over and over and there was not anything new here.  

A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman

This was another disappointment.  This book was given great reviews and I couldn't wait to get it from the library.  I was 26th on the waiting list!  So when I got to chapter 5 and realized what was hinted at from page 1 really happened...I threw the book across the room and refused to read the rest!  Maybe you will like it though...I just wasn't in the mood...

The Precious One, Marisa de los Santos 

I truly enjoyed this 2-voice narrative of half-sisters Taisy and Willow. They share a father, Wilson, but have been raised in totally different fashions.  Lots of interesting family dynamics revealed.

 How To Write a Novel: A Novel, Melanie Sumner

Cute. Clever. Fun.  Aris Thibodeau, the narrator, is 12.5 years old and is writing a novel in 30 days.  Her mom is an English teacher; her dad is dead; and the nanny (the single guy next door) is an aging hippie who just happens to be the perfect match for her mother, in Aris's opinion.  I loved how the writing process was a part of the telling of the story...so cool for an ex-English teacher like me.

Beach Town, Mary Kay Andrews

Just needed to read a book I knew would be stress-free and relaxing.  This fit the bill perfectly. Set in Florida Greer Hennessy, a movie location scout- finds love and her long-estranged father in a run-down, struggling beach town.  

November Reading Round-up

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late for a very important date!"  What the heck happened to November?  I was just making preparations for Thanksgiving and the next thing I know it's December. YIKES!

So, I apologize for getting my November reading list out late, but truly, someone must have wiped a week out of my calendar. I'm sure everyone is feeling the same  at this time of year. So much to do; so little time to do it all.  And to top it all off, half of the books I read this month were duds.  Here's my review:

The Mapmaker's Children by Sarah McCoy

This historical fiction book was one of my favorite reads this month. The story flips back and forth between Civil War era and present day America.  It follows the story of Sarah Brown, daughter of John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame. Sarah was a talented artist who painted secret code maps for the Underground Railroad--a little known fact. These maps were thought to sometimes be hidden in the heads of dolls to be carried by the children of escaping slaves.  As Sarah's story unfolds, so does the twin plot line of Eden, a modern day woman who is emotionally ravaged by years of failed attempts to conceive a child.  Eden and her husband try to restart their life in a new home in West Virginia near Harper's Ferry.   This Civil War era house just happens to be the very home where Sarah stayed while her father was executed after his attack on Harper's Ferry.  When Eden unearth's a doll in a secret root cellar in the home, the secrets of the house begin to unravel.  I loved the coincidences the author creates between the two time periods and how the author shows that the actions of one generation can affect the lives of many generations to follow.

Bed and Breakfast by Lois Battle

I chose this book because of the title.  I just love bed and breakfast places. Bob and I have a favorite B&B that we patronize whenever we visit Cape May.  It's called Inn at the Park, and it is owned and operated by two very lovely people, Jay and MaryAnn.  Unfortunately, they just announced their retirement and will no longer be hosting their B&B after January.  Just wanted to give them a shout out and to let the blogworld know what truly welcoming and sweet people they are.  Here are just a couple of shots of them and their beautiful Victorian home:

MaryAnn, an avid tennis player at age 70, was dressed for a big tourney that was to take place immediately after breakfast.  You go girl!

The parlor where hors d'oeuvres are served to guests every day at 5:00.

Back to the book... the setting for Bed and Breakfast is Hilton Head, South Carolina.  The main character is Josie, a close-to-seventy-year-old woman who tenaciously runs a B&B that she insisted she and her husband buy after years of nomadic wandering as her husband "Bear" pursued his military career.  Josie has been widowed for many years when the story opens and the reader can see how much the B&B gives meaning to her life.  The plot is complicated by the sibling rivalries of her three grown daughters. Life is never dull when you have nosy guests, and even nosier friends, not to mention a sister who lives next door.  A fun read.

Ruth's Journey:  the Authorized Novel of Mammy from Gone With the Wind by Donald McCaig

This sounded like a fascinating story, but was such a disappointment.  I couldn't get past the first two chapters.  The setting begins in the Caribbean Islands of the slave trade days where the French are unsuccessfully trying to quell a slave uprising.  The graphic violence and history book reporting was too much.  I wanted to get into the mind of Mammy and hear her thoughts of Tara and the O'Hara's but that never happened...I peaked at the ending (Oh Horrors, yes I did)

 and still didn't see any glimpses of the Mammy of Gone With the Wind. 

Lesson Plans by Suzanne Greenberg

This one also made the loser list. I thought I would be so interested in a book whose characters decided to homeschool their children, but the two families who were the focus of the story were so messed up and dysfunctional, I just couldn't stand reading any more about them! The main character was a father who mourned the loss of his liberal, activist lifestyle of his youth after being forced to do the adult thing, like go to work and support his family. So, since wifey made big bucks, he decides to quit the workforce and homeschool his three girls in a completely free environment.  Just imagine what that looks like...Montessori in hyper-drive!  Kids with no limits, no schedules, no plans!!! Hmmm...no comment.  Then there was the other homeschool novice, a mother (recently separated from hubby) who has become so overprotective of her highly allergic and asthmatic daughter that she might as well have put the girl in one of those John Travolta Bubble Boy glass domes.  This woman seriously needed help, and hubby just walks out because he can't cope with his wife's phobias.  Hello?? there is a child here in need of an education and guidance...Step up man and take charge!  I had to leave these guys to muddle to the end of the book alone. I just don't have patience for irresponsible adults. I was especially disappointed because I really think homeschooling can work for many kids and was hoping this book would paint that picture for me...alas not to be.

That's it for November...gotta get shoppin'...Let me know what you have been reading.  Take a stab at reading my two duds, maybe you can change my mind.  Any disagreements about my reviews are welcome too.