Where has the time gone?

Wow! Where has the time gone? It can't have been a year since I last posted! I have been very busy with my new duties. I have read a lot of books, so I will just hit the highlights.

The Pearl Diver by Jeff Talarigo

This book is about a young Japanese girl who supports her family by diving for pearls. One day (just at the end of WWII) she discovers that she has leprosy, so she is sent to a "leprosarium" or a leper colony on a small island. There, the residents have created their own society, with guards to watch over them. There is terrible consequences for misbehavior and breaking the rules. The saddest thing is that she spent almost her entire life on this island. A heartbreaking but enthralling read!

Another book we read was Jasper Fforde's The Fourth Bear.

The evil and sadistic killer, the Gingerbreadman has escaped from the insane asylum. Jack Spratt, of the Nursery Crime Division of the Reading Police Department, is searching for both him and a missing reporter Goldilocks. Along the way, he has to deal with exploding extreme-cucumber-growers, an alien detective, a domestically violent couple Punch and Judy (who are also marriage counselors), and bears who illegally deal in porridge (think 7 foot tall drug dealers). This book was a pure delight, silly, and a great bit of light reading.

One last book that I would like to mention is The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy.

What a great book! We had a long discussion trying to identify parts in the book that correlated with the fairy tale. The story starts with a Jewish family in the ghetto during WWII. The father manages to escape with his whole family, but the Nazis are not far behind. To protect the children, the stepmother tells the children to run deep into the forest and to change their names to more German sounding names (Hansel and Gretel). An old woman (the witch) who lives deep in the woods catches Hansel eating the bread she hangs on nails driven into the side of her house. She takes them in and tells everyone that they are her grandchildren. Soon Nazis come to the village, and it is harder and harder for her to protect the children. Can anyone guess where the oven that the "witch" is thrown into comes into the picture? Another great book, that is a heartbreaker. Read it! It is well worth it!

Well, that is it for now! My book clubs have lined up to read The Shack, Chicago Haunts, Vanish, and other exciting reads!

I'm Back!!!

I have been gone for a while, but look out because here I am! I have been reading alot of books (too many to blog about), and here are some of my favorites.

People of the book is a look at a rare manuscript, and the people that have owned it (and saved it) throughout the centuries. We read it for a book discussion group, and it was the best one that we have read yet!

I also just finished reading Fahrenheit 451. Yes, I know, you are probably thinking "What!! You have never read it before now???" What can I say, a deprived schooling where my high school prepared us for a life of "You want fries with that?"

But I did read it (well listened to it) and I really enjoyed it. It wasn't as in depth as I thought it would be. Many people in the group did not like it, and were very sorry that they read it. I enjoyed it, and it was read by the author so it was double the entertainment!

The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty

Last night at my book discussion group, we discussed Laura Moriarty's book The Rest of Her Life.

Eighteen year-old Kara is driving with her best friend Willow when she notices a stray dog running across a busy street. Worried that the dog might get hurt, Kara pulls into a parking lot and tries to get the dog to come to her. She succeeds, and both she and Willow drive off to take him to a local animal shelter. While Kara is calling the shelter, she runs a stop sign, killing Bethany, a sixteen year-old girl crossing the street. What follows is how both families, and the small community, comes to grip with the tragic accident, and how it will affect Kara "the rest of her life."

We had a very interesting discussion. Many people didn't like Kara's mother, Leigh. She seemed to be more concerned about how Bethany's mother is dealing with the accident, rather than how her daughter is coping. Towards the end of the story, Leigh begins following (we decided stalking was a better word) Bethany's mother every Thursday and several evenings during the week. When Bethany's mother finally confronts her, Leigh's comment is that she was worried about how she (Bethany's mother) was coping with her daughter's death. Hmmmmm......

Several people were disappointed with the book's ending. I, however, didn't mind the ending. There were several people and things that were just thrown in. Almost as if the author was going to write more about it, but forgot to.

2008: A Year of Anticipation

I am finally back, after over a month off due to surgery. I was able to read several new books (once my eyes were able to focus again). Several books I read was part of a young adult series called "Vampire Kisses." I really enjoyed them. They were a light, fluff read, not like Kim Harrison, Laurell K. Hamilton, or Charlaine Harris. Basically, they were about a goth teen (the only one in a small town) who dreamed of meeting a vampire. When a boy about her age moves into the creepy mansion on the hill, she becomes intrigued. Will she get her wish at last, or is he just another goth teen like her? Currently, there are four books in the series, and the fifth book is due out this summer. There is also a graphic novel that will be out the summer also that follows the storyline.

I also read "The Wednesday Letters" by Jason F. Wright. If you are in the mood for a heart-warming tear-jerker, then this book is for you. I had to put down the book a couple of times because I was crying. All-in-all, well worth the read.

I can't wait! Kim Harrison's new book, "The Outlaw Demon Wails" will be out next month. I can't wait to see what Rachel Morgan is up to now.

Busy, Busy, Busy

This time of year is very busy, especially I will be on sick leave for a few weeks. Maybe I will have time to catch up on my reading! I am also trying to coordinate an author fair for April 2008. I hope that we have a good turnout for both authors and patrons. I just finished Cornwell's Book of the Dead, and I thought that it was interesting. I think that it ended too quick. There wasn't a suspensful build up as most of her other books had. Maybe I am becoming too jaded by all the books that I have read. The last few books have been interesting, but not phenomenal. I am waiting for a book to reach out and grab my attention. The characters in the books just seem to be stumbling onto who the criminal is, and there is relatively no danger or suspense. Maybe the new year will bring some great books! For a great book, (no suspense but a great message) read Paolo Coelho's The Alchemist. Let me know what you think!

Books I am reading

I have just finished reading Diane Mott Davidson's Sweet Revenge, and I really enjoyed it. I was a little surprised that everything was tied up a little too fast at the end. It was almost like, "Oh gee! I guess I had better end the book so this is how everything is solved." All in all, the enjoyment of the story was worth the wait to get it from the library. I am now on the reading Patricia Cornwell's The Book of the Dead (listening to it on CD), and Meg Mullin's The Rug Merchant (reading the book).