p.quinn

Recent Reads

I told you I've been busy reading!

And this stack was mostly pretty enjoyable.

The books all revolve round two of my most favorite topics.

Food.

And living vicariously through armchair travel.

So, let's begin.....

"The Olive Farm"  by Carol Drinkwater was a great read if you enjoyed books such as Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence"  and "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes.  Which I did.  Carol, an English actress, and her French husband-to-be, Michel, pour all their savings into the purchase of a rundown, overgrown olive farm.  This is the story of their trials, tribulations and triumphs.  The sub-title, "A Memoir of Life, Love and Olive Oil in the South of France"  pretty well sums it up.  Excellent!

"Toast"  by Nigel Slater was...well...interesting.  I had never heard of Nigel Slater before I picked up this book---turns out he has written quite a few cook books and a popular London newspaper column.  I just bought it because I liked the title.  And the cover.  A memoir of Slater's childhood and growing up years through the viewpoint of food, it covers everything from milk to eggs and what happens when he eats them.  Let's just say he was a picky eater.  Of course, not being English, I didn't know most of the brand names mentioned or the foods he was telling about, but still, I got the basic idea.  Not a must read, but entertaining on a cold winter evening.

I bought this next book at a rummage sale for the title alone.  "French Women Don't Get Fat"  by Mireille Guiliano.  While this is pretty much a diet book, there are lots of interesting ideas presented on the differences in eating between the French and Americans, eating seasonal and fresh foods, plus tips for eating as you get older to name a few.  Lots of recipes if you are inclined to cook.  I'm not.  I did enjoy this book---I'm glad the title reeled me in.

"Julie & Julia"  by Julie Powell.  I suppose everyone else has either seen the movie or read the book by now....I'm just slow.  Plot:  Julie is cooking her way through Julia Child's classic "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".  365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen says the tag line.  That should also include a sailor's vocabulary.  Julie starts a blog to chart her progress and some of her bleaders  {as she so lovingly calls her readers} comment that she uses the word f**k  too often.  I agree.  While I loved the idea  of this book, I was actually disappointed.  Sorry.

"True Confections"  by Katharine Weber was probably my favorite of this stack.  I had a little trouble getting into things at the beginning, but it didn't take long and I was hooked.  Alice Tatnall goes to work at Zip's Candies straight out of high school, marries the owner's son by October, eventually ending up running the company.  Covering the history of the Ziplinsky family from the early 1900s, this tale also tells much about the candy industry in America.  Ooey gooey, full of love, betrayal, family bickering, and, of course, lots of chocolate.  I enjoyed this one!

Have you read any of these?

What did you think?

What has caught your attention lately?

I'm already well into my next stack.

Once again all from authors I've read and enjoyed.....

Recent Reads

Winter.

Prime reading time.

Well, actually any season is prime reading time, but winter is especially good.

I've been busy...

Lots stacked up to read.

Several stacks read and ready to report on.

Today I'll start with my all new-to-me author stack....

"Belong To Me"  by Marisa de los Santos was a book I grabbed quickly at a rummage sale just because I liked the cover---a whole line of brightly colored Wellies.  After reading the book, I'm still not really sure how those Wellies fit in.....  Anyway.  Cornelia and Teo Brown move to the suburbs.  Enter neighbor Piper, typical Queen of Suburbia, and fellow new residents, Lake, and her brilliantly gifted son, Dev.  The ladies start to become acquainted, some easily, some not so much.  Lives start changing in mighty big ways with one huge surprise thrown in along the way.  Not the best book I've ever read, for sure not the worst.  Well written.  I have another de los Santos book in my waiting stack{s}...we'll see...maybe I just don't have quite the feel for Marisa yet?

"Stealing With Style"  was a fun, light mystery involving one of my favorite things---antiques.  Of course these were diamond brooches and silver urns---a far cry from the vintage ironstone and buttons I play with---but still all rather entertaining.  I'd read a write-up about this book and had it on my "To Look For" list for several years...  I was ever so happy to find it on the sale shelf in a used book shop and it was a delight to read.  The author, Emyl Jenkins, is an antiques appraiser and has written several books on the subject along with a syndicated column.  This was her first novel.  Another book has since been added to the Sterling Glass series and I will be looking for it.....

"Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English"  by Natasha Solomons.  Another debut novel.  Jack and Sadie Rosenblum, German Jews, arrive as refugees in England in 1937.  All Jack wants to do is become English.  Very  English.  All Sadie wants to do is remember the old ways.  Jack pretty much succeeds in his quest except for one thing...membership in a golf club.  There is only one hitch.  No club will admit him because he is Jewish.  Finally, Jack decides he will have to build his own golf course.   Jack and Sadie move to the country where the colorful locals call them the "Rose-in-Blooms".  Throw in the coronation of Queen Elizabeth, golf pro Bobby Jones and the fabled Dorset Woolly Pig and you've got quite a story.  Through the entire book, I kept finding myself wanting to cheer for Jack and give Sadie a great big hug.  This was by far, the best book I have read in ages.  At the end, I read late into the night, propped up on pillows in bed, grinning from ear to ear.  Definitely a keeper that I will read again.  Highly recommended.

"Dear James"  by Jon Hassler covers a lot of ground from small town northern Minnesota, to Ireland, to Italy, all in the life of Miss Agatha McGee.  Agatha spent her entire life teaching at St. Isidore's Elementary in Staggerford, Minnesota.  She taught almost everyone in town and everyone knows her.  Now the school has closed and Agatha is at loose ends.  Sylvester Juba starts suggesting they marry...not a welcome idea.  Agatha leaves for a pilgrimage to see the Pope and finds happiness with former acquaintance, pen-pal and nemesis, Father James O'Hannon.  Lots a detailed writing and humor.  I'll give it three stars and will read the other books in the Staggerford series if I come across them.

"The Hunger Moon"  by Suzanne Matson.  Yet another debut novel.  Each chapter alternates being told by one of the three main characters {all women} except for one short chapter near the end told by a man.  Every person is hiding secrets.  Every person is having major life changes.  Somehow, they all end up meshed together.  I'm giving this book only two stars.  There was some good reading here, but the main character, Renata, has a young son and she goes into great detail and depth about nursing her baby.  Over.  And over.  And over again.  After awhile, it felt like the book was a continual journal on nursing baby Charlie.  I kept thinking "Oh no!  Not again!"

So, that is the stack.

A pretty wide variety.

One extra special book.

What's go your attention these days?

Recent Reads

Reading, beading, eating.

Beading, eating, reading.

Eating, reading, beading.

That pretty well sums up my life lately.

Oh, yes.

And fretting.

But we won't discuss that right now.

Anyway.

For this stack, I decided to go with all authors I had read before.

Some many times.

And mostly, they didn't disappoint.

Which, I guess is why I keep reading them.

{duh}

So, here we go......

"Queen of Broken Hearts"  by Cassandra King was my least favorite of the batch.  Clare is a therapist who helps women mend the pain of their broken hearts.  And she has one herself.  Throughout the book, Clare is courted by two men while she decides if she wants {or is ready...} to start anew.  Kind of the old easy to dish out advice, but hard to take it routine.  The story rambles on, and of course, in the end, Clare doesn't pick the fellow I would have.....  I give this around 2-1/2 stars...

I was so excited to read "Promises to Keep"  by Jane Green.  I didn't get very far in before I knew how it would all end.  I won't say much, but if you don't like it when a main character dies {I don't...} find another novel.  Thankfully, several other interesting story lines kept this from being a total tear jerker.  Beautifully written as all Jane Green books are, just not what I was wanting to read.

"The View from Mount Joy"  by Lorna Landvik is my favorite in the stack.  As a matter of fact, I think it may be my favorite Lorna Landvik book, with the possible exception of "Welcome to the Great Mysterious"  which I read so long ago I hardly remember it.  But it made Landvik one of my favorite authors, so I know I really, really liked it.  Anyway.  Written from a man's perspective, this wonderful tale follows Joe Andreson's {no, that isn't misspelled} life from Minnesota high school in the early 1970s through his middle age and the ownership of a string of grocery stores.  This puts Joe at roughly my age and growing up in my neck of the woods.  Maybe that explains part of my enjoyment.  He was so easy to identify with.  I just wish I'd had Joe at my high school.  And for sure, I would love to shop at his Haugland Foods.  Two big thumbs up for this one!

"Dairy Queen Days" by Robert Inman.  Another 1970s story centered around a male---this time a sixteen year old named Trout.  {short for Troutman}  Trout's mother is in "The Institute" and his father, Joe Pike, is an ex-college football star, motorcycle riding Methodist minister with his own share of problems.  Aunt Alma, Uncle Cicero and Great Uncle Phinizy round out the family of true characters.  Set in a small Georgia town, this is a rather entertaining story, a nice read if you like Southern lit.

And then there is "Flush"  by Carl Hiaasen.  Although I liked his "Hoot"  just a tad bit more, this is a fun, rollicking book that any age can enjoy.  I think the strongest word used is "poop".....  Lively, weird characters---villains, bullies and good guys---all involved in a plot to either stop or continue the dumping of sewage from a floating casino boat, depending upon which side they are on.  "Flush"  also earns two thumbs up.  As the praise given from Chicago Parent says; "C'mon, how can you resist a book with a toilet seat on the cover?"

And there you have them.

My Recent Reads.

My next stack?

All authors new to me.

So what are you reading at the moment???

Recent Reads

Yes, I'm still at Mom's.

And, yes, I'm still reading.

A lot.

I read for pure entertainment.

I want happy books.

Seems like these days, I pick up quite a few books at shops, or yard sales, or the flea market...and put them right back down.

If I see violent, killed/murder, cancer, brutal, abuse, death or similar words  in the book's description, I'm just not interested.

I have enough on my own plate right now and I don't need to add any more bad or depressing thoughts to my mix.

A couple of the books in this stack had some heavier parts than I was expecting, but, all-in-all, a pretty good batch......

"The Lace Makers of Glenmara"  by Heather Barbieri was one that had some deeper, darker parts than what I usually like to read.  Kate goes to Ireland after a string of bad events---her mother dies, her fashion show flops, her boyfriend runs off with one of the models.  Enough to make any girl leave home.  A group of lace makers befriend her and they begin working together on fancy undies.  Things start to come apart, some nastiness occurs, but in the end, the knickers are a hit and all turns out well for everyone.  Except for one..............

"On Strike For Christmas"  by Shelia Roberts was just plain old cute.  After years of their husbands not realizing what all they do to make each holiday special, a knitting group decides to go on strike and let their husbands take care of things....everything.  Botched Christmas trees, disastrous turkeys and bungled holiday program costumes follow.  By the time Christmas arrives, both husbands and wives have learned a lot and promise that next year things will be different.  A light, fun, made-me-smile read.  With lots of recipes.

"A Single Thread"  by Marie Bostwick.  After Evelyn Dixon's husband dumps her, she begins the ultimate fantasy---she jumps in the car, drives to New England and opens a quilt shop in a quaint village.  Of course these is much more to the book, but that is the main gist.  For awhile, I worried that I had another version of Kate Jacob's "The Friday Night Knitting Club" on my hands, but this one had a much happier ending.  I have another book in the series, "A Thread Of Truth",  packed away in my storage shed and I look forward to reading it.....

"Twenties Girl"  by Sophie Kinsella was a great romp.  At her 105 year old great-aunt Sadie's funeral, Lara Lington meets Sadie for the first time in her life.  Only no one else can see her.  Because Sadie is obviously dead....  Sadie wants Lara to find her favorite necklace which has turned up missing because she will only be able to rest after she has it back.  Weird relatives, man trouble and 1920s flapper fashion come along on the fast paced journey as Lara {and Sadie...} strive to find the lost dragonfly necklace.  Thoroughly enjoyed....may even read it again....some day.....

"Lucia, Lucia" by Adriana Trigiani---my favorite of this stack.  It is 1950 and this is New York City.  Lucia Sartori is 25 and one of the new generation of women beginning to emerge.   She is still single and enjoying her career as a designer's apprentice in the fabulous B. Altman department store special order dressmaking room.  She wants a husband and is engaged, but she also dreams of her fashion career...which comes first?  Old Italian-American family values and the 1950s collide.  A handsome stranger appears.  A trip is taken back to the old country.  Many things change in a short time.  This wonderful novel starts and ends in the present day, with a well-lived life in between.  I always enjoy the way Trigiani writes and describes in such great detail the fabrics, the trims, the creations.  They come alive in my head.  Excellent!  I got lost in here.  Another book worth reading a second time....

So that is my stack.

And I'm well on my way through another.......

Have you got anything good beside your chair or on the nightstand now???

Recent Reads

I'm still at Mom's.

And I'm still reading.

I'm finding it a good hot weather activity.

{if I can keep the sweat out of my eyes.....}

I have to say, nothing spectacular in this stack.

Pretty much all tried and true authors.

Some of my favorites, as a matter of fact.

But no super great reads.

Sad, but true.

So......

Seems I either absolutely adore an Elizabeth Berg book, or I read a couple chapters and heave it in the trade-in pile.  This one fell close to the latter.  "The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted"  has the tag-line of "And Other Small Acts of Liberation" which pretty much went right over my head.  This is a collection of 13 short stories, many with the theme of dieting/weight loss.  Which got old after the first couple... One of the stories is titled "The Day I Ate Nothing I Remotely Even Wanted" and was more {or less...} a one day food diary of someone on Weight Watchers.....  I basically didn't get the whole point.

"Rococo"  by Adriana Trigiani was much more entertaining, written from a man's point of view---the main character, Bartolomeo di Crispi, an Italian-American interior decorator from New Jersey.  Known as "B"---his company is called "The House of B" {of course....} and this is the tale of his trials and tribulations in both his {and his sister Toot's} love life and the renovation of his local church.  Plenty of world travel, bullion fringe and "Our Lady of (Drown Your) Sorrows Cake with Heavenly Frosting {recipe included!} ensues.  This would be my favorite book of the stack.

"Miss Julia Hits the Road"  by Ann B. Ross....Miss Julia books, in a way, are like Debbie Macomber books....every once in awhile, you just have to read one.  In this tale, Miss Julia becomes a Motorcycle Momma....a Biker Chick....to save her best friend {and housekeeper} Lillian's house.  The Poker Run fund raiser starts with Miss Julia in a shirtwaist dress, riding in a sidecar, but ends with her straddling the back of a Harley, wearing {gasp!} pants.  Leather ones.  Priceless.  As usual.....

"If Morning Ever Comes"  by Anne Tyler.  This was an early Anne Tyler {1964}, perhaps her first novel.  If this was the first Anne Tyler I'd ever read, I would never have read another.  Actually, I would never have finished this one, but since I have read {and loved!} so many of her books, I kept going, hoping things would pick up....  Why was this written?  And published?  I just didn't get it at all....the story of Ben Joe Hawkes' trip home from law school to visit his sisters back home....I just kept thinking the title should have been "If This Book Ever Ends"......  So sorry.

"Sharing The Journey....Women Reflecting On Life's Passages"  edited by Katherine Ball Ross.  This volume was one that I picked up from my 3rd favorite spot in Barnes & Noble---the "Last Chance" table right inside the door.  {My other favorite spots in B & N are the magazine racks---especially the British home/decor section---followed by Starbucks in the back....}  Anyway.  These are all essays that were previously published in the original Victoria magazine. {of which I have a just few....}  Such a wide of variety of topics covered!  From sorting out Grandma's house after she is gone, to feeding deer....  A child's discovery of the library.   Thoughts on journaling and letters and gardening.  Sisters, Queens and Grandmothers.  36 writers contribute.  If you like Victoria magazine, you will like this book.

So, there you go.

As I thought and wrote, I decided I was perhaps a tad bit harsh in my opening comments.

I'd still say nothing was spectacular, but several were good, fun, light summer reading.

Perhaps all this heat is making me cranky.....

Ya think?

What are you reading this summer?

Recent Reads

I've been busy reading. 

Or at least trying to.

For the first time in quite awhile, I have thrown four or five books on the trade-in pile after reading in for a few chapters and finally deciding that it just wasn't worth my time to keep on going......

Kinda disheartening.

Maybe I need to learn to choose better.

Ya think?

Anyway.

After all that, I have a pretty good stack for you..........

"Swapping Lives"  by Jane Green was a wonderful read.  I love Jane Green.  I don't toss her books on that trade-in pile four chapters in!  This was the tale of two thirty-something women, a successful British career woman and a married American mother of two, who appeared to the rest of the world like they had it all.  But these two aren't really happy.  Or so they thought.  Without giving everything away, Vicky and Amber trade places across the Atlantic and learn much about their lives and themselves in the process.  Lots of valuable insights about the old "the grass is always greener" theory.   Very enjoyable, hard to put down.

"Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn".  Oh dear.  Not really something I would like to see.  Or do.  This is the third book I have read by Kris Radish and I'm about ready to give up.  So far, they have all been OK, {at least they didn't get heaved on that dreaded pile} but I've finally decided that Kris Radish just isn't my cup of tea.  "Dancing Naked "  starts out with Meg finding her husband of almost three decades in bed with someone else.  She watches.  And it just gets weirder from there.  On second thought, I probably should have thrown this in the trade-in pile.............

But things get better.  "Cherries In Winter"  by Suzan Colon is fantastic!  This book was a surprise from Bobbi, my blogging friend in Utah.  This story starts when Suzan loses her job and finds she must economize by using good old-fashioned home cooking.  Among other things.  Taking in three generations of women, a wide variety of recipes are included for those inclined to cook and bake.  I'm not, but they sounded mighty good!  I particularly enjoyed the thoughts on not becoming miserly in spirit.   "We may be broke, but we're not poor" was one of my favorites.  Great, great book.  Two thumbs up.  Thanks again, Bobbi!

I totally enjoyed "As Good As It Got" by Isabel Sharpe.  I picked it up because I liked the cover {it has a Corgi dog on it!} and I was not disappointed.  Follow along on the journey of the four unlikely-to-ever-become-friends women of Cabin Four at Camp Kinsonu, a retreat for suddenly single women.  Ann, Cindy, Martha and Dinah share little in common except being single.  Then they are stuck at camp singing "I Am Woman" around a roaring bonfire.  {I would just curl up and die...}  The ladies make many discoveries along the way and this was truly a fun, fun book.  I will be on the watch for more Isabel Sharpe!

And finally, we come to "Alphabet Weekends"  by Elizabeth Noble.  As you can see in the photo, this book came to me well worn.  I think I paid $1.59 for it at a thrift shop.  I was hoping that the well worn translated into well loved....passed from friend to friend with a "you gotta read this!" note attached.....  I don't know about any of the previous owners, but I certainly loved it!   Natalie and Tom are childhood friends who made that infamous "if we both make it to thirty and are single, we'll get married" pledge.  Well, they are both over thirty and still single.  Natalie drags her feet---sure she can't love Tom "that way".  Tom comes up with the brilliant idea of them spending twenty-six weekends together, each weekend a different activity starting with a letter of the alphabet.  Hence the book's tag line "Love on the road from A to Z".  They tackle everything from Ikea to a Queen tribute band with gusto, and, of course, I think you can guess the outcome of the story.  A good time was had by all.

So, that is what I have been reading lately.

What is in your stack?

Recent Reads

It is that time of the year.

When snow and ice keeps me indoors more often than I'd like.

That's right.

Exercise bike time!

Ugh.

Which translates into extra reading time.

Hurray!

I've been getting a lot read and here is a look at my most Recent Reads........

I used quotes from both of the bottom two books in a post I did not too long ago on choice.  Both books revolve around women going through some large, life changing experiences.  Lots of moments of insight.  Women finding their strength.

"The Wildwater Walking Club"  by Claire Cook finds Noreen, a woman who spent most of her life working just about every waking moment for Balancing Act Shoes, unemployed due to a buyout.  And dumped by her boyfriend at the same time.  Ouch.  Claire begins walking {and talking} with several neighbors she hardly even knew she had and between her new found friends, lavender, and a community ban on clotheslines, the future begins to look much brighter.  A fun read with some interesting characters.

In "Dancing at the Harvest Moon"  by K.C. McKinnon, Maggie McIntyre's husband of more than twenty years comes home one day and tells her he has found the love his life---a twenty-seven year old paralegal from his office.  As Maggie's friend Claire puts it, "Life can be such a barrel of crap."  Indeed.  Maggie heads to Canada to try to reunite with a long-lost love and while that doesn't quite work out, she does reunite with old friends, the Harvest Moon, and a surprising new love.  I give this three and a half stars.........

Now the top three books came from one of my favorite places in Barnes and Noble...those tables of deeply discounted books up near the cash registers.

You know....the displays designed especially for tight a$$es such as myself.

Well, they must have seen me coming since not only were the books deeply discounted {cheap}, they were buy two, get one free that day..........

BINGO.

"The Christmas Cookie Club"  by Ann Pearlman.  I had heard of neither.  Just thought it looked interesting.  And it was.  Marnie, aka The Head Cookie Bitch, hosts a cookie exchange with a dozen other women every December.  They gather to eat, drink, exchange cookies {duh} and tell the stories of why they chose to bake their cookies of choice and the details of their lives for the past year.  All the recipes are included and also interesting facts on baking.  However.....if you are squeamish, please skip over most of chapter two.  Especially from where it says "Then Luke died" on page 37 to about halfway down on page 45 to "That was seven months ago."  Now I know that Luke's death was integral to the story, but it was such a terrible death and described in such detail.  I'm just not sure why this was necessary---how did she think this up???  Otherwise, a wide variety of women and their interesting stories make for a good read. 

"Very Valentine"  by Adriana Trigiani, author of the "Big Stone Gap"  series.....my favorite of the entire stack.  Best book I've read in a long time.  Set in Greenwich Village, Valentine Roncalli and her grandmother, Teodora Angelini, make custom wedding shoes.  Lots of details about their materials, a dream trip to Italy to purchase leather and trims, plus a rollicking Italian family.  Throw in a couple of handsome Italian men and we've got a great, entertaining story.  I'm not sure I would have made the same choice as Valentine did at the end, so I'm hoping for a sequel to find out what happened next.............Both thumbs up!

"The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club"  by Gil McNeil.  Oh my.  I absolutely loved this book.  Except.  I wish there was a PG version.  When I read the back, I thought it should be a delightful story.  And it was.  Except for the language.  I never dreamt I'd have to give that a worry in a book involving knitting, purling and wool, but whew!  Instead of being in a cozy shop full of yarns and patterns, I could have been sitting on a loading dock somewhere!  Several of the characters could hardly form a sentence without the f-bomb used.  At least once.  Sometimes twice.  Even Jo's five and six year old boys were extremely fond of what she called "rude words" such as "willy, wanker and bugger".  A great story about a newly widowed young mother who leaves London to take over her Gran's knitting shop, I'd love to read the sequel "Needles and Pearls",  but I don't know if I can take any more swearing......... 

So there you have a peek at some of what I have been reading lately.

What is stacked up next to your favorite chair?

 

 

Recent Reads

Well, it certainly has been a L.O.N.G. time since my last Recent Reads  post.

And it certainly isn't because I haven't been reading.

I have done a ton of reading lately.

I just didn't have that much access to a computer.

While I was at my Mom's house, I shoved the pillows up against the headboard and read far into most every night, enjoying {most} every minute of it.

Here's a look at some  of what I read........

Although I didn't start out intending it, I seemed to be on a "Reading Of The Sequels" mission......

And some were good.

Some not so much.

"At Home On Ladybug Farm"  by Donna Ball was one of the not so much variety.  Actually, I was somewhat disappointed.  I had enjoyed "A Year On Ladybug Farm"  quite a bit and was delighted to see the sequel, but it just seemed rather lack-luster.  There were some cute and fun moments {like the sheep wearing sweaters...} but not enough of them to keep me that interested.  Since the ending was left open wide enough to land a plane, I figured there was another installment coming---sure enough---I just checked on Amazon and "Love Letters From Ladybug Farm"  is out.  I don't know if I will read it or not.........

Ditto for "Knit Two"  by Kate Jacobs.  "The Friday Night Knitting Club"  was a great read {all except for the surprise near the end...}, but at times I almost wondered if someone else had written the sequel.  Much more fluff, much more headed down the chick-lit path.  It was ok, but....... Same deal---the next book is out---"Knit The Season"---not sure if I will read it or not.  Maybe if I find it used, but I won't buy it new......

"Wives Behaving Badly"  by Elizabeth Buchan was a little hard for me to get into at first.  Maybe it was just me??  I read "Revenge Of The Middle-Aged Woman" awhile ago and enjoyed it quite a bit.  The sequel takes up the story about seven years later.  From the other side of the aisle.  It is the story of Minty, the "evil woman", the homewrecker, the new young wife, after she is married to Ethan.  And what happens after Ethan dies unexpectedly, throwing Minty and Rose, the first wife, back together.  Once things got rolling, I found it more interesting.  But not as interesting as the first book.  I would give it about three stars.

"The Baker's Apprentice"  by Judith Ryan Hendricks was one of my favorite books in this stack.  It is the sequel to "Bread Alone",  the story of Wynter Morrison, a Seattle bread baker.  This book kept me quite interested from cover to cover, but seemed to end rather suddenly.  l felt a bit like I was left in limbo.  I guess I just like nice, tidy endings.  Could that mean there is another sequel coming?  Nothing that I know of yet.  But I would read one if there was.....  There are several recipes included from the Queen Street Bakery which sound rather tasty---especially the one for Cappuccino Hazelnut Scones.  However, since I'm not much of a baker, I'm hoping that someone would like to try out the recipe and send me some.  No?  Awww, come on..........

And lastly, "Recipes For A Perfect Marriage"  by Morag Prunty.  I had never heard of the title nor the author when I spied this book in one of my favorite spots at Barnes & Noble---the "Last Chance" cart parked in the entry.  Bought it on a whim....thought it sounded interesting.  And it was!  Stories of modern day Tressa run in tandem with stories of her Irish Grandmother, Bernadine.  Tressa always imagined that her grandparents had the perfect marriage and anything less would not be enough for her.  However, as we all know, things are not always what they seem....  Tressa, a food writer, is preparing to write a book featuring Bernadine's recipes which are liberally sprinkled throughout.  A wonderful read which I very much enjoyed.

So, there they are.

Another stack.

I'm well on my way to another Recent Reads  post already.

And I've got some good ones for you...............

 

Recent Reads

Ok. 

I will admit it.

The word recent  in that heading is a bit of a stretch.

I have been too busy lately to get much of any reading done.

But this is the most  recent batch, so here we go.....

Quite a variety.

Some great.

Some not.

"The End of an Error"  by Mameve Medwed falls very close to the great end on my spectrum.  This is the book that I got the "who even if she was here, was not"  quote for one of my vision journaling pages earlier this year.  Spanning many years of a woman's life, from her trip to England with an eccentric Grandmother as young adult to a surprise ending in middle life, this book kept me pretty well entertained.  I had never heard of the author or the book when I purchased it on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed myself as I traveled along.

Not so much so with "The Quilter's Homecoming"  by Jennifer Chiaverini.  Sorry to say, I don't really have too much to say about this book.  More like plodding along than enjoying the trip.

Years ago I used to love the Judith Michael books.  Couldn't wait for the next one to come out.  So when I noticed "The Real Mother",  I was very pleased to see it.  Until I read it.  Again, not too much to say other than I probably won't read another Judith Michael book.  There just seemed to be too much tension and not enough good stuff.  I must be getting old or something.....

Now back to the good ones.....

"Tea House on Mulberry Street"  by Sharon Owens was a fun read.  Set in Ireland, it is the saga of a tea house {duh...}, the owners, and some of the regular customers.  From a starving artist with a huge crush on Nicolas Cage, to the owner of the local flower shop, it was interesting to see how all their lives became entwined as things really picked up speed towards the end.  Enjoyable characters.  Easy to read.  Very good.

Oh my.  "Custard's Last Stand"  by Tamar Myers was a hoot.  Magdalena, a Mennonite woman engaged to a Jewish man, runs a bed and breakfast in Hernia, Pennsylvania.  Filled with stuff like beehive hairdos, 25 foot snakes and whale foreskin {really!} upholstery, this rollicking murder mystery had me snorting from beginning to end.  Lots of great stuff like "he wastes his time staring at orange juice containers because they say 'concentrate'.....".  And Magdalena's thoughts on bacon...."The Good Lord forbid his Chosen People to eat pork so that the rest of us could have more.  Frankly, as a good Christian, I consider it my religious duty to eat as much bacon as possible, thereby sparing Jews temptation." { Amen.}  Billed as a Pennsylvania Dutch mystery with recipes, I give this book five stars and will be looking for the many others written in this series.

And lastly, "Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast Pillow Book"  by Bill Richardson.  Another five stars.  At least.  Set in British Columbia at Hector and Virgil's bed and breakfast, this book covers all sorts of tales, anecdotes and memories of the unmarried twin brothers and their parrot, Mrs. Rochester.  From early childhood memories of their teacher, Mrs. Godbehere, to recipes and book lists, there is a lot of ground covered between these covers and I certainly enjoyed it all.  This book is a keeper.

Now I will leave you with a little poem found in "Bachelor Brothers"  ........

Scrub a dub dub!

A boy in the tub,

Whether he stands or sits,

Ought to remember

To launder his member

And lather up both his pits!

Recent Reads

 

I have been wanting to do a Recent Reads post for a little while now. 

As a matter of fact, I took the photo almost two weeks ago.

But somehow, I just never got around to doing the post.

Then yesterday, Bobbi was so nice as to mention my book reviews in a post detailing her "Things I Want To Do" list.

Which {besides making me think about creating my own "Things I Want To Do" list} gave me the kick in the butt necessary to tell you about my Recent Reads......

Thanks, Bobbi!

This stack really ran the meter from one end to the other. 

Loved it.

Hated it.

And everything in-between.

So, here we go......

"The Friday Night Knitting Club"  by Kate Jacobs was a book that I wanted to read for quite some time but I couldn't find a used copy that wasn't priced too high {Yeah, yeah.  That tight a$$ thing again...} or not totally beat to pieces.  If you can believe it, I actually broke down and bought a new copy!  I thoroughly enjoyed Georgia, the owner of a yarn shop in Manhattan, her daughter Dakota, and the ladies that frequented their shop and made up the {duh} Friday Night Knitting Club held there.  That is, I thoroughly enjoyed the story right up until close to the end when the bottom fell out.  Don't worry---I won't give anything away.  This book gets four and a half stars---it is pretty hard to put down.  There is now a sequel out--- "Knit Two"  ---which I plan to get.  I also have Jacob's second novel, "Comfort Food", sitting here in my stack{s} waiting to be read.   Which, just for your information, I also bought new.........

"Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral"  was the second book I have read by Kris Radish.  The first was "The Elegant Gathering of White Snows".  Both books had similar themes---groups of women out wandering around---one trip planned, the other not.  "Traveling Funeral",  is obviously about a funeral....planned by the person the funeral is for.  Annie Freeman, recently deceased, brings together a group of her friends and sends them on a nation-wide mission to scatter her ashes in places that meant something to her and {hopefully} will mean something to her pall bearers.  While the story is basically fun, I seem to have a little trouble getting into Kris Radish's style of writing....I'll place this one at middle of the road.

"Queen of Babble in the Big City"  by Meg Cabot is just pure chick-lit all the way.  Nothing that requires a lot of attention....a somewhat cute, somewhat fun, fast read.  I almost put it in the toss pile shortly after I started, but the main character, Lizzie, was trying to get a wedding gown restoration business idea off the ground and I just had to see if she succeeded....  The book ends with a cliff hanger to get you interested in the sequel, but I'm not sure that I am interested enough..........................

"Blue Shoe"  by Anne Lamott.  My first Anne Lamott book.  Oh my.  I have got to be honest.  I really didn't like this book.  At all.  I almost gave up on it after the first few pages, but since I had read such great things and received such high recommendations for Anne Lamott from several friends, I kept reading....it had to get better, right??  Maybe part of the problem was that some of the story line hit too close to home---a woman dealing with her mother's dementia and then losing a long-time, much loved family pet.  But from rat infested walls and a sh!t spewing {her words, not mine!} iguana, to a father that slept with his best friend's wife and  young, teen-aged daughter {producing a child...}, this book left me depressed.  In hindsight, I wish I had quit reading when I was so inclined.  I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.  And I have another Anne Lamott book sitting here in my stack{s}.  I am almost afraid to start it.............................

And last, but certainly not least, "Hoot"  by Carl Hiaasen.  I picked this book up at a rummage sale last summer and the middle school aged boy sitting there mentioned that it was a pretty good book.  I thought his comment was rather odd as I had pulled it out of a box of "adult-type" popular fiction.  After I got it home, I noticed that inside the front cover were a whole list of awards for "Hoot"  from children's, teenager and young adult booksellers, foundations and libraries.  Let's just say that I haven't fit into any of those categories in a long, long, long time.  But I read the book anyway.  And the kid at the rummage sale was right.  It was pretty good.  Darn good!  With great characters like soccer Amazon Beatrice Leep, obnoxious corporate bigwig Chuck Muckle, and B-movie star Miss Kimberly Lou Dixon {just getting ready to shoot her next film "Mutant Invaders from Jupiter Seven"}, what's not to like??  A fast paced tale of main character, Roy Eberhardt and a band of kids in Coconut Cove, Florida fighting to save some burrowing owls from being plowed under to make way for the 469th Mother Paula's All American House of Pancakes, home of the world famous mouthwatering licorice oatmeal flap jack.  Lots of action, no foul language, nobody got killed.  Kept me entertained from start to finish.  Just a great read for young and old readers alike. 

 

Besides, how could you not like a book with a cover this cute?

There you have my Recent Reads and I'm already busy working on the next batch.......

What are you reading???