Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult.
I finished this book in only a few days, all 466 pages of it. Maybe not a feat for some, but I've been pretty meh about reading this year.
I have new info on people going through IVF and all they endure financially and physically, although I still don't understand that crazed "I've got to have a baby and it has to be biologically mine".
I also have a new understanding about how seeming normal people can be drawn into those crazy, bible-thumping churches. Who wouldn't want a big group of people behind them? Sort of a surrogate extended family. Along with that, I got a peek into the lesbian relationship and it's not really any different than the hetero one, except for all the intolerance from the outside. I can't imagine how annoying and hurtful it must be to have to hide your partner from a large section of the world.
So, midway, I thought I'd be heading for a 5 star review, then came the weird Max-Liddy encounter, so maybe 4.5 stars. Except, once again, I feel like Ms. Picoult wrapped things up too quickly and tidily. 400+ pages of build-up deserve a bit more explanation for the ending. So I subtracted another half a star.
4 stars
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Book #18 in 2011
Photo Snap Shot, A Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-n-Craft Mystery by Joanna Campbell Slan.
I didn't enjoy this book as much as the last one I read in the series. Kiki is again on the trail of a killer after her daughter discovers a dead body at her school. I'm not quite sure why I didn't like it as much. Maybe I read it too soon after the other? I had a hard time keeping some of the characters straight.
3 stars.
I didn't enjoy this book as much as the last one I read in the series. Kiki is again on the trail of a killer after her daughter discovers a dead body at her school. I'm not quite sure why I didn't like it as much. Maybe I read it too soon after the other? I had a hard time keeping some of the characters straight.
3 stars.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Book #17 in 2011 (Audio)
Bleeding Kansas by Sara Paretsky. Read by Susan Ericksen.
17 hours.
I don't remember why I picked this book. Maybe it was on a display shelf, or perhaps I searched by narrator. Either way, I put off listening to it for quite some time, and I'm sorry I did. It was much better than I ever expected.
Plot centers on the Grelier family and their neighbors in a Kansas valley where farming is the way of life. A wiccan moves into a distant family member's abandoned home next door and sets off a series of events which may change the valley forever.
A disturbing look at religious fundamentalism and an eye-opening look at what the life of American farmers is like.
From scanning the Amazon.com reviews, it seems this novel may be a departure from Ms. Paretsky's usual style of writing. That's a shame. I'd like to see more books like this.
4 stars.
17 hours.
I don't remember why I picked this book. Maybe it was on a display shelf, or perhaps I searched by narrator. Either way, I put off listening to it for quite some time, and I'm sorry I did. It was much better than I ever expected.
Plot centers on the Grelier family and their neighbors in a Kansas valley where farming is the way of life. A wiccan moves into a distant family member's abandoned home next door and sets off a series of events which may change the valley forever.
A disturbing look at religious fundamentalism and an eye-opening look at what the life of American farmers is like.
From scanning the Amazon.com reviews, it seems this novel may be a departure from Ms. Paretsky's usual style of writing. That's a shame. I'd like to see more books like this.
4 stars.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Book #16 in 2011
Make Take Murder by Joanna Campbell Slan.
Latest book in the Scrap-n-Craft Mystery series.
I wasn't expecting to really enjoy this book. A character named Kiki Lowenstein? Scrapbooking store as a setting? But I was surprised when I was drawn into the story, almost from page 1. Kiki is searching in the dumpster behind her store for a lost paycheck. Instead, she finds a severed leg. The rest of the book is, of course, solving the mystery, with several interesting sub-plots along the way.
I give this book 4 stars, with the caveat that it is clearly chick-lit. You can even add a half a star if you're into scrapbooking. (It made me want to head over the the local scrapping store.)
Latest book in the Scrap-n-Craft Mystery series.
I wasn't expecting to really enjoy this book. A character named Kiki Lowenstein? Scrapbooking store as a setting? But I was surprised when I was drawn into the story, almost from page 1. Kiki is searching in the dumpster behind her store for a lost paycheck. Instead, she finds a severed leg. The rest of the book is, of course, solving the mystery, with several interesting sub-plots along the way.
I give this book 4 stars, with the caveat that it is clearly chick-lit. You can even add a half a star if you're into scrapbooking. (It made me want to head over the the local scrapping store.)
Monday, May 30, 2011
Book #15 in 2011
Love You More by Lisa Gardner.
Detective story featuring D.D. Warren. She is not my favorite recurring character, so I was happy the story contained little of her personal life and instead focused on the murder of Brian Darby and the disappearance of six year old Sophie.
Gardner weaves an interesting tale that keeps you guessing throughout the novel. My only criticism is that the ultimate "bad guy" kind of comes out of nowhere. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
4.5 stars.
Detective story featuring D.D. Warren. She is not my favorite recurring character, so I was happy the story contained little of her personal life and instead focused on the murder of Brian Darby and the disappearance of six year old Sophie.
Gardner weaves an interesting tale that keeps you guessing throughout the novel. My only criticism is that the ultimate "bad guy" kind of comes out of nowhere. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
4.5 stars.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Book #14 in 2011
10th Anniversary by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro.
The 10th novel featuring the Women's Murder Club contains the usual Patterson fare of short, page-turning chapters. I can't remember any of the plots of the previous nine books in the series, but this isn't the kind of book you read for mental challenge or to change your life. It was just an enjoyable, quick read.
4 stars, for what it is.
The 10th novel featuring the Women's Murder Club contains the usual Patterson fare of short, page-turning chapters. I can't remember any of the plots of the previous nine books in the series, but this isn't the kind of book you read for mental challenge or to change your life. It was just an enjoyable, quick read.
4 stars, for what it is.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Book #13 in 2011 (Audio Book)
The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews. Read by Isabel Keating.
Enjoyable, light reading. This is an okay novel, for what it is. It will never be mistaken for fine literature, but was fun to listen to in the car. Ms. Keating is a reader I haven't heard before. She has a nice voice and did a fine job with the different characters. I especially enjoyed her rendition of the old curmudgeon, Ella Kate.
Dempsey Killebrew is a young lobbyist working in Washington, DC, until her boss sets her up to take the fall in a congressional bribery scheme. Broke and unemployed, Dempsey heads off to a small town in Georgia to prepare an old, family home for sale.
4 stars, as chick lit.
Enjoyable, light reading. This is an okay novel, for what it is. It will never be mistaken for fine literature, but was fun to listen to in the car. Ms. Keating is a reader I haven't heard before. She has a nice voice and did a fine job with the different characters. I especially enjoyed her rendition of the old curmudgeon, Ella Kate.
Dempsey Killebrew is a young lobbyist working in Washington, DC, until her boss sets her up to take the fall in a congressional bribery scheme. Broke and unemployed, Dempsey heads off to a small town in Georgia to prepare an old, family home for sale.
4 stars, as chick lit.
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