What’s On My Nightstand

I can’t seriously believe it is already time again for this meme! And I’m always confused…is this for February or March?  Either way, here’s my pile of books.

On top is the Pioneer Woman’s Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, the story of how she met and married her rancher husband.  I faithfully followed this tale when she chronicled it on her blog, but couldn’t resist getting it in book form as well.  It’s a story for the ages.  ;)

I have read all the books by Sarah Addison Allen and enjoyed them so much that I sought out more authors in this “magic realism” genre.  Alice Hoffman is quite prolific and my library had several of her books so I picked up a few on our last trip.

I also had a little Amazon gift card money in my account and used it to get a couple of books.  I had seen Southern Plate a while back while browsing Barnes and Nobles and then again in many other places and finally took the hint and bought it.  I won a ticket to Heart of the Matter’s online homeschool conference but every time I tried to log on my computer crashed.  While waiting the two weeks for the mp3s of the conference to be released, I picked up a cute title by one of the speakers, If I’m Diapering a Watermelon, Then Where’d I Leave the Baby?  The subtitle is Help for the Highly Distractible Mom.  Uh, yeah, that is sooooo me.

Very soon the library book sale season will begin in my area.  I am so looking forward to finding many more (cheap) books for my nightstand.  Now I just have to find the time to read them.

Book Review: Garden Spells

I tried my best to get through 100 Years of Solitude but I just couldn’t!  I had no desire at all to finish it but felt bad that I had spent so much time getting half way through.  Then I reminded myself that I was 40something years old and not in college or high school any more and did not have to finish the book.  It wasn’t the end of the world that I would miss a few weeks of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.  Whew, what a relief. 

This one I had no problem at all finishing.  In fact, I hated to see it end, just like The Sugar Queen and The Girl Who Chased The Moon (also by Sarah Addison Allen.)  In true Sarah Allen fashion, Garden Spells centers on women with mysterious traits and the conflicts these bring to their lives.  In fact, the town featured in Garden Spells is full of families with such mysterious abilities.  The Waverly sisters are our main characters.  They work to overcome the abandonment issues brought on by a “free wheeling” mother, and to learn to accept their own special “gifts” while trying to lead somewhat normal lives. 

Allen’s easy to read and colorful writing style has you connecting with the characters from page one.  This is a book that you don’t want to put down, but also one you are able to pick up and get right back into at any point.  What I like most about Allen is her ability to add the little mysteries and oddities into her story and make them completely believable and well, normal.  The worlds she writes about are perfectly normal everyday scenes out of anywhere in America, but she spices them up with “magic realism.”

This book is not hard hitting literature but is certainly far enough from “fluff” to qualify as a good read to me.  There are some detailed romantic encounters but they are brief and integral to the storyline.  I highly recommend this book and all others by author Sarah Addison Allen.

What’s On My Nightstand

I haven’t played along with this meme in…forever!  I promise I have been reading, and yes, something other than rereading Harry Potter (mostly.)

Top of the pile there is 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of Love In The Time of Cholera.  Click on that link and read the Amazon.com review and you will see what you are in for with this book lol.  I am not really all that interested in it but I’ve invested several evenings already so I figure I better see it through.  Next is Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.  That one I am excited to read, but I had just read her book The Girl Who Chased The Moon and figured I should read something else in between (why I chose a Gabriel Marquez book I do not know lol.)  Bottom of the pile is the boys’ current reading book for school, The Call Of The Wild.  We just finished The Jungle Book, I guess they are wanting to stay with an animal theme.

Now in full disclosure, the stack of books above does not technically reside on my nightstand.  That’s an end table in my living room.  This is my nightstand…

currently housing only an old family pic and my super-cool-best-Christmas-present-ever-have-taken-it-off-only-to-wash-it Peyton Manning jersey.

Keeping it real, Julie  :)

Book Review: The Girl Who Chased The Moon

Week 2 of this challenge has been a success!  I made it to the library but for some reason the “new and popular” shelf was practically empty so I just started roaming the fiction aisles to see what stood out to me.

I found this, The Girl Who Chased The Moon.  I had no idea when I picked this book up that I had already read this author (Sarah Allen) before (last year I believe) with Sugar Queen.  What a treat this book was!  In line with Sugar Queen, the author took a simple story and wove some magical elements in it, yet the situations as a whole are so believable you just accept the unusual.  Hard to explain, so just read one of Allen’s works for yourself.  The writing is easy and familiar, the characters are very likable…it doesn’t take any time at all to feel right at home with this book.  I loved it, went out of my way to find time to read it, and basically didn’t want it to end.  :)  If only all 52 weeks worth of reading would go this well lol.

Book Challenge Week 1

Well I did it!  I read a complete book this week, the first week of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.  I really had to make an effort to get the book finished so quickly, spending at least an hour each morning reading before everyone got up, and then there was one day this week ds3 was sick and I snuck in a lot reading while he napped on the couch.  So I don’t know if I can maintain this pace or not.

I read Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand.  Just picked it up at the library off the “new and popular” shelves on a whim.  I really enjoyed this selection, especially since dh and I lived in Britain for three years and I could easily picture many of the settings described in the book.  The lovely villages with their expansive greens, boxy houses lining the tiny quiet streets, and little shop on the corner were all painted in adequate detail.  Not to say the writing was bad, it was just good…not outstanding but certainly better than most.  The story centered on a retired and widowed military man who loses his brother and not only has to deal with that grief but with the family squabbles over a beloved endowment from his father.  The author cleverly threw in a somewhat scandalous late in life romance and a couple of obnoxious Yankee characters for good measure.  I was especially drawn in by the ending of the story, which contained an unexpected but well written twist.  Not to worry, the Major gets his happy ending, but I was pleased that it came in such an interesting and unusual manner.  The characters are endearing and the plot will keep you reading…in fact, I was struggling between finding out what happened in the end and watching my Colts try and advance in the playoffs last night.  The book had a happier ending lol.

I’m not sure what I will tackle for next week as I don’t have any new physical books on hand, but I did download some freebie electronic versions to my computer so I might try one of them.

52 Books In 52 Weeks

I stumbled across this most interesting reading challenge and decided to join in.  I will still be doing my 50 book challenge at Shelfari (4th year in a row!  Only made it to 32 books last year) but I figured a weekly thing might make me choose a book over the computer more often.  ;)  I found an interesting looking book at the library last time we were there, so I’ll start things off with it.

I’m not exactly sure when we link up reviews at the challenge site, but hopefully I’ll have one by the end of the week. 

What’s On My Nightstand

Usually my nightstand holds a pile of books I am waiting to read, but this time it’s a pile I’ve already finished! 

I found all these at the library book sale last month.  I am pretty sure I have read the James Herriot books before, but it’s been a while and I absolutely loved visiting the jolly vet and experiencing his adventures again.  I had seen American Wife on quite a few lists around the internet and knew I wanted to read it.  I did not know it was actually based on Laura Bush’s life.  Had I not known this I may have enjoyed this book more, but…it is my greatest pet peeve when people “rewrite” history and fictionalize it.  I appreciate it when it’s done in a respectful and in a keep to the facts manner, but come on!  This writer simply changed Mrs. Bush’s name to Alice and had a field day with the rest.  Yes, it made for a very exciting and interesting read but who can walk away from this and not have the thought in the back of your head that you know just how Laura Bush feels about the car wreck she was in as a teenager, about her husband, her in-laws, etc.  No, this is fiction, no one knows what’s in her head but her and that’s where it should stay.  And if she did have an affair with the brother of the boy who died and subsequently have an abortion after that, that is her own stinking private business!  (And if she didn’t then there you are again, stuck with ideas in your head that you can’t help but associate with Bush when you see her.)  Yes, again, it made a good story, but when you come up with such a story based on a real live person you are taking liberties I just feel are wrong.  Okay, rant over!

I read The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson last year and found Gods In Alabama to be very similar in storyline and writing style.  If you live in the south like me you will appreciate the setting and character development.  Jackson has quite a way with story plot and twists as well, it makes for an interesting and unique read.  I haven’t gotten to Between, Georgia just yet because…I have started rereading Harry Potter YET AGAIN lol.  I just started last week and am already on book three.  Ds2 is joining in as well and we are having fun revisiting the wizarding world together.  So it may be a while before I get to any new fiction on my nightstand.  :)  Be sure and visit 5 Minutes for Books for great reviews and articles.

What’s On My Nightstand

This month’s “to be read” pile on my nightstand is made up of the great finds I made at the library book sale last weekend.  How lucky that I found two of the books on my Spring Reading Thing challenge?

Now the book on top is the latest Magic Treehouse series book that the boys are having me read to them.  They both love that series and we read two at a time…one in the pick up line at ds3’s school (this one usually has something to do with our current schooling) and one before bed.  I love reading to them but I admit they are eating into my personal book reading time lol.  This old momma sometimes falls asleep too soon after reading their chapter and before reading mine.  ;)  Head over to 5 Minutes for Books to see what more people have on their nightstands this month.  :)

Spring Reading Thing 2010 Update

We are a month into the SRT 2010 challenge.  This go round I challenged myself to continue to read books from certain series I have started; The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and The Harmony series.  I am happy to report that I have read two more of the Ladies Detective Agency series and am starting book 8…only 2 more to go in the series!  I have had the next book in the Harmony series on hold at the library for-eh-vuh but it hasn’t come in yet.  :(  On the bright side, the library system in my Mom’s county is having their annual sale this weekend.  Hooray!!  We have been calling each other all week we are so excited lol.  Hopefully I can find some of these series to pick up (and you know I’ll find plenty of others lol!)  Anyone else taken up the challenge this year?  How did the first month go for you?

Fireworks Over Toccoa Discussion

Over at 5 Minutes For Books there is a  post and a linky for joining in on a discussion of the book Fireworks Over Toccoa that I reviewed here.  The one discussion question that appealed to me was

*Do you think duty is ever more important than love?

 

Do not read this is you haven’t read the book yet!

The whole love vs duty dilemma was the part of the book that had me thinking the most.  Lily felt it was her duty, to her husband and his family, to not run away with her true love Jake…but only after her husband was suddenly and unexpectedly killed.  Was there no duty in the marriage vow she took?  She would have left the marriage for a man she just met and felt it was okay because her husband would have been able to move on.  But now he was dead and it was unfair to his memory and to his family to accept her true love Jake.  I found this very honorable of Lily and I was glad she did look beyond her own desires.  I just think it was a little late in the game.  But then we wouldn’t have had such a great book then, would we?  ;)  Do I think duty is more important than love?  Yes.  I think it is a mistake to shirk your duties for any reason.  If you have read the book then join in on the discussion…there are plenty more questions to weigh in on.  :)

What’s On My Nightstand

Um, where did March go?  I blinked and now it’s the 4th Tuesday and time for the 5 Minutes for Books What’s On Your Nightstand meme.  I’m propping my eyes open for April.  ;)

I read all the books on my list last month!  I have really been in a reading mood lately, although the book I’m on now is kinda tedious and I am fighting the urge to reread the Harry Potter series (darn those Deathly Hallows previews!)  Here is my stack for this month…

On top is the next book in the Ladies Detective Agency series (part of my Spring Reading Thing challenge) followed by some books I picked up at a sale.  At the bottom we have The Swan Thieves, the only survivor of the battle against library books waged last week.  I still ordered a new one for the library but decided I could live with the small stain left behind on this one.  The one in the middle, Gilead, is what I am currently reading.  I read Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson and did not like it, but I’ve heard so many good things about Gilead and wanted to give her another try.  I am finding this one so hard to work through! 

Behind the stack of books on my nightstand you will find this pic.  Me and my oldest boys when they were the ages my youngest boys are now (around 9 and 4.)  We are posing in front of a fountain in Epcot at Disney World, 10 YEARS AGO!  Yikes.  I need to remember to take one in the same spot with the younger boys, and again with the older boys to see the changes.  In them, of course, I haven’t changed one bit.  ;)

Join in on all the reading fun over at 5 Minutes for Books.

Spring Reading Thing 2010

Time once again for The Spring Reading Thing challenge at Callapidder Days.  Click on the lovely button above to discover what it’s all about.

My challenge is pretty simple this time around:  Finish at least 6 books in two series I have started (3 books in each series.)  The two series are Alexander McCall Smith’s No.1 Ladies Detective Agency and Phillip Gulley’s Harmony series.  I have already read the first five in the Ladies series so the next three are

• In The Company of Cheerful Ladies
• Blue Shoes And Happiness
• The Good Husband of Zebra Drive

In the Harmony series I have read the first two.  The next three are

• Signs and Wonders
• Life Goes On
• A Change of Heart

I should be able to find all these at my library.  I will be reading other books than these, but these are the ones I am challenging myself to read this spring.  That way I won’t feel bad when I do read something other than what’s on my list (which always happens lol!)  I look forward to seeing everyone’s lists and reviews and to reading these two wonderful series!  Thanks to Katrina for hosting this event.  :)

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Book Review: Rainwater by Sandra Brown

I borrowed this one from the library after seeing it on several lists around the internet.  From what I understand, Sandra Brown is a pretty prolific “thriller” type writer; in the forward of this book she mentions that Rainwater is not her typical offering.  Well, I wish it was!  Rainwater was a beautiful, intriguing, page turning, emotional novel that I devoured in (almost) one sitting.  It had twists and turns in the plot that not only kept me reading but actually surprised me, and when you have been a life long reader such as I you are rarely caught off guard by a book.  The characters leap off the page but I noticed that it was their hearts, their beings that captured me much more than their actions or physical descriptions.  Even though we readers knew the ultimate outcome of the main character, Mr. Rainwater, Brown’s superb writing left us with a story we will remember long after we put the book down.  So pick the book up, already!  You won’t be sorry.  :)

I am submitting this to 5 Minutes for Books monthly “I Read It” meme.  Jennifer originally reviewed it in November.

What’s On My Nightstand

I cannot believe it is time for this meme again.  Yea, I know, February is a short month, but still!

On top we have The Touch by Colleen McCullough.  I am sooo enjoying this one right now!  McCullough (well known for The Thorn Birds) is just the best “historical” story teller ever.  I cannot imagine all the research she must do for these books, but she is a pro.  Next in line is Rainwater and Just Shy of Harmony, borrowed from the library.  Dh and I are reading Prime-Time Health, by Dr. William Sears (I won it from Pam’s site—thanks Pam!) and finding it helpful.  Lastly you see two recent finds at the local homeschool consignment shop, The Handbook of Nature Study and a science experiment book for the boys.  We have been following Barb’s Outdoor Hour series for a while now and it is based on The Handbook.  I always just referenced the free online version until now and am thrilled to have a hard copy of our own.

This is the charm attached to my bookmark…perfect for my cat mom self lol.  Also, the cats love playing with it while I read.  Head over to 5 Minutes For Books and check out what is on everyone’s nightstand this month.  And by all means, join in!  Happy Reading.

What’s On My Nightstand

The good people at 5 Minutes For Books host this monthly meme and I have it together enough this month to participate!

I finally made it to the library (between not having a car and the library having some seriously messed up hours, it is difficult!) and picked up some new reading.  Top to bottom we have Emma Brown, $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook (not from library, I bought that one) The Alchemist (already read it, odd little book) The Full Cupboard of Life (5th in No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series) Sarah’s Key, The Biggest Loser, and Down Home with The Neelys.

Check out the pics I have on my nightstand…here is a closer look.

Dh and I as newlyweds, when we lived in England.  This was from a trip to London.  Some guy approached us and said he’d take our picture and mail it to us.  We paid him a pound and had a good laugh thinking we’d just been ripped off.

Ds2 and my nephew when they were little.  Best of friends then and now…

…so many years later.  They are switched in this photo from Christmas, nephew on left, ds2 on right.

So what’s on your nightstand this month?

Fall Reading Challenge Results

Well it’s official, it’s winter and the Fall Into Reading challenge hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days is over.  Done.   Finished.  I know you are dying to know…how did I do?

I read a lot.  8 new books to be precise.  Not as many as some, but enough for me.  :)  I had 10 on my list that I wanted to read but only got to 5 of those.  I couldn’t get my hands on the other 5!  But I had some good substitutions.  And as usual, I reread.  How could I not with the new Twilight movie coming out (so there’s 4 books right there) and then the latest Harry Potter movie out on DVD (read the last 2 books in that series.)

My favorite book from this challenge?  Definitely The Sugar Queen.  Least fave?  Still Life.  As always the challenge was great fun.  Thanks Katrina for hosting!  :)  I met some new reading buddies and got lots of ideas for books to read.  Oh, and I read lol.

Book Review: The Sugar Queen

What a delightfully wonderful book this turned out to be!  The setting was fun and cozy, I fell in love with all of the characters, the storyline was familiar yet the author added some twists that made it worthwhile. 

When I began reading I was afraid I had a light read on my hands.  That’s okay, I was enjoying myself and the characters were just awesome.  Then the author would throw in a little tidbit that made me go, “What?  Hmmm…” and my interest went beyond funny and endearing characters and romantic storylines to finding out just what was going on here!  The little oddities, the bit of “magic” really make this book much more than your typical love story or chick lit (times 4 as we delve into 4 women’s relationships.)  Oh, and if you are dieting, like me, beware that all the little candy and food references may drive you crazy.  You have been warned.  ;)

The Sugar Queen is a great book I highly recommend.  This is a personal review of a book I checked out of the library but may soon own myself.  But not because I stole it from the library or anything, because I may purchase it myself.  Just getting that clear.  ;)

Book Review: The Girl Who Stopped Swimming

I feel a little like I’m not equipped to review this book, like I should read it again and make sure I understand everything.  You know, like I read it, I know what happens, but I’m not sure I’ll pass that quiz tomorrow morning.  ;)

This is one of the books I picked up at the library book sale and added to my Fall Reading Challenge list.  I was excited to read this one because I had heard good things about it and knew the author had other books I’d wanted to read as well.  Then I read the first page…and saw my own darned town right there in black and white!  I kid you not, Pace, Florida, right there on page one, second paragraph, second sentence.  I looked over at dh and said, “We are in this book.”  “Um?”  “I said, we are in this book, Pace is in this book right here.”  And then I read it to him…

He was tethered to the three-bedroom brick ranch where her parents still lived, half an hour away in tiny Pace, Florida.

“Half and hour away?  Do they mean Pensacola?” asks dh.  I quickly read ahead and sure enough, the main character of this story grew up in Pace, where we now live, and lives in Pensacola, where we grew up.  SPOOKY.

I was hoping to see all kinds of references that I’d “get” and could have a secret smile at, and there were a few like the Piggly Wiggly on the state line and a mention of Pace High School and the Pensacola News Journal.  But if the author had really lived here she’d know there is only one Krispy Kreme for goodness sakes.  ;)

All that said, this is a good book.  Well written, believable if somewhat strange characters, and a plot that keeps you reading.  For me it wasn’t an easy read as there are a lot of storylines to keep track of and it gets a little muddled from time to time as we go back and forth between the past and present.  It’s the kind of book you need to put down and ingest for a while before picking it back up.  Even now after I have finished I am thinking back to certain scenes and connecting a few clues.  While it centers on a current mystery it actually unravels lots of old family secrets and stories.

The author did a good job with the characters, although I thought the main character, Laurel, was portrayed a bit ambiguously.  She lives in a fancy gated community and has a Martha Stewart life, but makes “new age art” quilts for a living.  Nah, a person like that would be in downtown Pensacola, near the water in a house with pink shutters and a couch on the porch.  (Believe me, they are there.)  Otherwise I think the characters are well rounded and come to life very easily.  A good book to pick up and dive deep into.  Just don’t forget to swim to the top.  ;)

Book Review: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

I loved, loved, loved this book!  I couldn’t wait to finish and didn’t want it to end…luckily this is the first in a series and I am so going to get the next one lol!  I had seen this book on a lot of reading lists and heard that it was good.  I figured it was a cute series about a female detective in Africa and that it would have her little escapades and adventures.

Well it did, but it also had so much more.  You get to know the main character bit by bit throughout the book and she jumps right off the page and into your heart.  There is humor, sadness, suspense, a glimpse into the life of an African woman and lots of examining of human nature and relationships in general.  It’s just a great read all around.  I can’t believe it was written by a man in all honesty, the way the female main character is so well fleshed out.  I just loved getting to know Precious and seeing into her mind.  This particular passage had me laughing out loud…

Now constipation was quite a different matter.  It would be dreadful for the whole world to know about troubles of that nature.  She felt terribly sorry for people who suffered from constipation, and she knew that there were many who did.  There were probably enough of them to form a political party-with a chance of government perhaps-but what would such a party do if it was in power?  Nothing, she imagined.  It would try to pass legislation, but would fail.

Hilarious.  But this is no light read, it will make you laugh one moment and touch your heart the next.  I don’t normally like mystery type novels, but honestly I’d classify it as fiction first and mystery secondly.  I am so glad I found this at the library book sale and added it to my Fall Reading Challenge.  3 books down, doing pretty good!

Book Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

 

Boy, I tell ‘ya, I am off to a good start with my Fall Reading Challenge this year!  It’s only been a week since we began and I’ve already read my second book.  Go me.

This was definitely a different book lol.  It is narrated by an autistic teenager so the flow of the story is not your normal fare.  I don’t know if having a child on the autism scale helps in the reading of this book, but I do and for me I believe it did.  Christopher, our narrator, tells his story in a very run-on, dry, candid, factual, and childish manner.  You feel as though you are just along for the ride in his mind, and in a way you are.  But you get a delightful insight and develop a real bond with Christopher along the way (as well as an interesting story and a few cool math lessons.)

This Mark Haddon is a superb writer to pull off a book such as this.  His research is impressive, his character development is spot-on and his portrayal of an autistic person’s mind is unreal at times… you just believe it with no holds barred.  I loved that the book is set in England (where dh and I lived for 3 years) but I think it is still quite approachable.  I did not like the language in this book.  At all.  And there is a lot of it.  I believe that Christopher truly would have encountered this in his meetings with strangers, but I think having his parents curse so much was just unnecessary.  Finally, this book was shelved in the “teen” section of my library.  Really?  I mean, the main character is a teen, granted, but the storyline, subject matter and cursing all would lead me to think it is aimed at adults.  Just my opinion.  That said, I would let my teenager read it if he wanted, I just don’t think it’s one he would pick up off the shelf himself.

Two good books in a row, I sure hope my good reading fortune continues!  Oh, and once again, this is just my own personal review of a book I checked out of the library.  From the teen section.  On a Friday.  And will return tomorrow.  That is all.  ;)