Read April 2012

Little Princes: One man’s promise to bring home the lost children of Nepal
author:  Conor Grennan                
finished:  April 12 
NF 9 Really Liked

Guy takes a break from working in Germany for 8 years. Going to travel for 1 year. Starts off by volunteering at an orphanage in Nepal. Loves the work; kids; the helping. Eventually re-unites kids and parents. Really interesting!

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter  

author:  Tom Franklin                   

finished:  April  12      

8/9       Liked

Takes place in Mississippi. Guy accused at 18 of raping and killing a neighborhood girl. It is never proven, just what people believe. He is shuned; unwanted in community. He has a hard father; he makes friends with a black boy; that boy eventually ignores Guy too. Very hard, sad life. The real story unfolds as you read the book. I liked it; but it is a little slow and is a very dark tale.

Before the Poison                       

author:  peter robinson                   

finished:  april 12     

7      ok

Really, can hardly remember! In know I finished because I started. Ok..man’s wife dies. He buys a house in England, finds out the earilier occupant was killed by the Country because she “murdered” her husband. Man investigates the “murder”.

Spoiler: wife did kill husband. Husband was very bad/cruel/making chemical warfare. She hated that. So, he had a heartatack..died..I think she may have given poisen.

The Hunter                               

author:  John Lescroart                   

finished:  April 12    

8      fine

Usual lescroart book. Was a “Hunt Club”.  The main hunt guy, lets call him Will, learned about this biological parents. He knew he was adopted and was prompted to discover the truth about his bio parents. His mother was murdered and his father was tried for the crime. In the end, Will cleared his fathers name.

Hide                        

author:  Lisa Gardner                             

finished:  April 12     

6     hardly

abandoned Massachusetts mental hospital, the gruesome discovery of six mummified corpses; Annabelle Granger has been in hiding for as long as she can remember: reads in paper that she is “dead”. Her father had them constantly moving and changing names. As an adult she tries to find out what really happened. Her crazy uncle was after them; ruined their lives. Weird, crazy, unfulfilling, disturbing book.

The Divide               

author:  Nicholas Evans                   

finished:  April 12   

9   REALLY LIKED

Family goes to same dude ranch for many years for vacation; I think it is called The divide. They love it. Husband falls in love with other woman there. What happens to family, why he fell in love with other woman. REAL THINKER!

Read March 2012

Forbidden lessons in a Kabul guesthouse 
author:  Suraya Sadeed       
finished:  Mar 12   
NF   7/8 interesting

An Afghanistan woman has a charity and collects money and distributes goods right to the people who need it most.

The Thirteenth Tale            

author:  Diane setterfield                 

finished: Mar 12           

OK – 5

Ok story, rambled on.

A secret kept                     

author:  Tatiana DeRosnay              

finished:  Mar  12            

4-5

Held my attention for awhile.....realized it was a book about depressed and sad people who had secrets...their mother was gay..i began skip reading.

Unorthodox the scandalous rejection of my Hasidic Roots    

author:  Deborah Felman                

Finished:  Mar  12    

NF   9 Really Liked

Very interesting book about the Hasidic religion. I really enjoyed this book!      

The Affair                         

author:  Lee Child                          

finished:  Mar  12    

9 Really Liked

Good Jack Reacher book. This explains why he left the army and started his vagabond ways. His (last) assignment in the army...go to a town, find out why a woman was murdered. He finds 2 or 3 other murders; falls for the beautiful town sheriff; says in a hotel; works with the army.

Read February 2012

My Name is Mary Sutter    
author:  Robin Oliveira                                         
finished:  Feb  12    
VERY GOOD  9

Great book about a woman that wanted to become a surgeon during the time of the civil war. Woman just did not do that. She persevered. She WAS a midwife. Very good book about what the civil war was about; about women’s lives during that time. I really enjoyed the education!

The Taker                                 

author:  Alma Katsu                               

finished:  Feb  12         

LOVED **

Sometimes “way out there” books appeal to me. This is one. It is a more adult book with adult themes. The book goes back and forth between the current day and the 1800’s. An ER doctor comes into the hospital. Works with a girl that has just been accused of murder. Through the visit, she tells the doctor her story and that is when the book begins looking in the 1800’s. This is a bit dark, but I was very sucked in.

The Train of Small Mercies   

author:  David Rowell                   

finished:  Feb 12              

7

Was a fine book. About the Train that took the body of RFK from one state to Washington for his burial. It has a lot of difference story lines, many different people.  What bothered me was that we just a got a glimpse into their lives, but not ending to the story.

Mudbound                        

author:  Hillary Jordan                   

finished:  Feb 12              

LOVED

set in the 1940's, kind of during and after WW2; a woman raised in Memphis meets a man, they get married, live their first year or so of marriage in a big city. The husband then goes and buys a large farm in Mississippi. The house has no plumbing, electricity, no windows. It does have an outhouse and a woodburning stove! The book is told from several character's perspectives. There are also some black character's in the book and they deal with so much racism. It all makes me so grateful to have been born during these times!

Rot and Ruin                     

author:  jonathan maberry              

finished:  Feb  12

Young Adult     

9 Really Liked

Apopaliptic time period. There was a terrible virus that killed most the people in the U.S. Few are left. They live behind heavily guarded gates to protect them from the zombies. Really, it's a good interesting story. I read the 2nd in the series; watiing for the third.

Divergent                          

author:   Veronica Roth                   

finished:  Feb  12 

Young Adult     

9 Really Liked

Apopaliptic time period.  These people must chose their group during their teen age years. There are 5 - 7 different groups to choose from. Don't make me name them. I did really enjoy the story. I reccomend!

Books Read January 2011

The Marriage Plot              
author:  Jeffrey Eugenides                               
finished:  Jan 12            
DNF

I was hoping to like this book, but I didn’t. It just meandered, then it would start to move for a few pages, then stall out again. It made me crazy so I skipped 600 pages to the end, and at the end of the book, the people are pretty much in the same place where the author started the book. Glad I didn’t waste my time!

**My husband DID LISTEN to this book on tape. He enjoyed it. hmm...different tastes...

How I Got This Way          

author:  Regis Philbin                             

finished:  Jan 12   

LOVED

LOVED this book!

What Alice Forgot              

author:  Liane Moriarty                  

finished:  Jan  12     

LOVED

Alice was in a very acrimonious divorce. Been married about 12+ years. She fell, hit her head. When she woke up, she did not remember any of the last 10 years. To her: She loved her husband, they were expecting their 1 child, they were very excited and loved each other completely. This is the way she acted and treated her husband. At first everyone was a little put off, including her husband. It is a great question in life; what would we do/act if we could not remember any of the bad/upsetting stuff?

The Last Anniversary          

author:  Liane Moriarty                  

finished:  Jan  12               

7/8

This is not a married anniversary. A bit of a trick. It is about the anniversary of a “murder” on a small island that has now become folklore. This is the story of a family; they live on this small island. There is also a story about a woman trying to find love. This book is fine; acceptable.

2011 Wrap Up!

I looks like 2011 was the year of the Non-Fiction! My most loved books fall into that catagory!
I have 4 Fiction books that I really loved, and even one of those has issues (language >: /)  If you want more information on the book, go down in the list where it was originally written up.

Still Missing                                       

author:  Chevy Stevens            

finished: May 11            

rated: 9*  language issues...

A State of Wonder             

author:  Ann Patchett             

finished:  July 11              

10 LOVED

Dreams of Joy             

author:  Lisa See                             

finished:  August 11               

10  LOVED

Left Neglected

author: Lisa Genova

finished: Sept 11

10 LOVED

Now these are the 6 books I really liked...not quite loved:

The Nobodies Album         

author: Carolyn Parkhurst 

finished: Mar 11              

9 really liked!

The Peach Keeper                                                                 

fauthor:  Sarah Addison Allen

inished:  August 11               

9 LIKED

The Forgotten Garden

author:  Kate Morton                             

finished:  August 11               

9

Minding Ben                     
author:  Victoria Brown                  
finished:  Sept  11               
8/9 Language

The Buddha in the Attic              

Author:  Julie Otsuka                      

finished:  Sept 11       

9

Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children   

author:  Ransom Riggs      

finished: Sept 11  

Young Adult

REALLY LIKED   9

I mostly LOVED these 9 Non-Fiction books:

Infidel                      

author:  Ayaan Hirsi Ali                  

author:  Feb 11                      

9

The Memory Palace   

author:  Mira Bartok                      

finished:  April  11        

8/9

Confections of a closet master baker     

author:  gesine Bullock-Prado  

finished:  May 11     

8/9

Peace from Broken Pieces   

author:  Iyanla Vanzant   

finished:  June 11                     

NF 8/9

My Korean Deli                 

this book brings up happy memories of floating while reading out in the pool...ahh

author:  Ben Ryder Howe               

finished:  July 11      

N/F  10 LOVED

A Paper Life              

author:  Tatum O’Neal           

finished:  July 11      

NF    9 Really LIKED

The Other Wes Moore        

author:  Wes Moore                                       

finished:  Sept 11  

NF  9

The Orchard                     

author:  Theresa Weir                             

finished:  Oct 11  

NF  9

Don’t Leave me This Way   

author:  Julia Fox Garrison                        

finished:  Nov 11     

NF   10 LOVED

Read during December 2011

Magic Study
Poison Study                     
author:  Maria V. Snyder                        
finished:  Dec 11       
8 Good
Young Adult Book

Set in about the 1500’s.     A 20 yr old girl is convicted of murder; but she is saved to be the food tester of the King. She must learn all about the poison’s she might encounter. This is a YA book. I liked the first and second book. There is a 3^rd, Fire Study. I started reading it, but it made me crazy and I didn’t care enough to finish.  The first 2 – good.

Gamble                            

author:  Felix Francis                              

finished:  Dec 11              

7

This is Dick Francis’s son. He really tried to follow the style. He did ok, but he missed the mark. This is a story about an ex jockey. He is now a finance guy. His friend is murdered right in front of him and the police continue to ask his opinion on why his friend is murdered. The guy my figure out the mystery.

Zero Day                          

author:  David Baldacci                          

finished: Dec 11

I hardly remember this book a month later…it is about a (jack bower type) guy; military, investigator, crimes. He Is sent to a no nothing town where an officer was killed. He finds out there is dangerous ingredients that will make an atomic bomb. It was fine, not great…really a “jack bower” book.

The Death Cure                 
author:  James Dashner                          
finished:  Dec 11              
7

Third in the series. Finishes the story. I liked how it ended…all is well.

The Litigators            

author: John Grisham                                    

finished: Dec  11             

8

Finley & Fig; boutique law firm,  David Zinc comes in from working for years at another big firm; frustrated; wants to practice real law. David’s wife working; his dad big lawyer. Ambulance chasing; drunks; tort law; bad case, david good case with lead filled Halloween teeth. Good book; interesting take on lawyers. I did forget I read it though….I would recommend.

Read during November 2011

The Art of Fielding             
author:  Chad Harbach                           
finished:  Nov  11        
7/8

I really enjoyed all the baseball talk. Henry, an amazing baseball player, comes to a college, Westish. Plays great for all 2 ½ years. During his 3^rd year he falls apart. Suddenly he cannot throw anymore.  He plays short stop. There are about 5 other characters, their stories are there. I didn’t care much. I did care enough to finish the 512 page book.

Don’t Leave me This Way   

author:  Julia Fox Garrison              

NF           

finished:  Nov 11     

10 LOVED

Julia takes a cold medicine and has a stroke! Left side paralysis. Takes many years to diagnose why she had the stroke. I really like this book; really liked her positive attitude.

Read during October 2011

The Invisible Bridge                    
author:  Julie Orringer                    
finished:  Oct 11      
5

Too long, too many words, not enough highs and lows, a little too blah. This is about Hungary at the time of the beginning of WW2. A poor family, one son wants to be an architect, the other wants to be a doctor. They both get some scholarships to go to school in France and Italy. The architect meets a lovely woman, falls in love. The book circles around their love story. War is hard, bad, unforgiving. Lots of sad things happen.

The Orchard                     
author:  Theresa Weir                             
finished:  Oct 11  
NF  9

She marries a man she hardly knows. The book goes back and forth between the present and the past in telling the story of these apple farmers. The husband has owned the land with his family “forever”. It is an interesting story. The wife is NOT well received by his family. She really doesn’t have family. It is a hard existence but they learn to know and love each other.

September 2011

Left Neglected           
by: Lisa Genova                              
finished: Sept 11             
10 LOVED

This is the 2^nd novel of the author. She writes so well. She writes about parenting what we have all experienced. She is funny, and light, yet with a great story, great meaning great lessons. This book is about a woman how is a Harvard MBA, works 70 hours a week, has 3 children including a 9 month old. A husband that she loves who also works like crazy. They have a high moving, high cost lifestyle. While driving to work one rainy morning and trying to make  a phone call, she gets in an awful car accident and has a brain injury. When she wakes up a week later in the hospital, she feels fine, mostly. What she does not realize is that she can no longer recognize her left side, or the left side of anything. It is a syndrome called Left Neglect. This is one of my TOP books I’ve read this year. All read it!!

Unbroken                 

author: Laura Hillenbrand                      

finished: Sept 11          

8 Good  NF

NF story of an Olympic athlete in the 1936 games. One mile was his event. He was VERY good. Then he went to WW2, was a bomber, his plane crashed in the ocean, he was stranded for 27 or more days, captured by the Japanese, held for 2 ½ years; was tortured. Interesting to see what people have done for our country’s freedom. I am grateful I read it, but at times it was a bit boring and kind of like a history book. The man’s name is Louie Zamperini. Really, a very interesting man.

Heaven is for Real             

author: Todd Burpo                              

finished: Sept 11     

NF  7

I really wanted this to be good, but it was a little better than ok.  It is a true story of a Preacher and his family. The preacher had 3 hard medical issues, then his son had appendicitis that was not diagnosed and almost killed the boy. The boy was in the hospital for 3 weeks. While he was in surgery, he went to Heaven. The book is about the unveiling about that and all that he saw. Unsettling: angels have wings, the Preacher was amazed at the revelations of heaven. Like he had some faith that it existed, but was amazed when his son proved that Heaven really was.

The Other Wes Moore        

author: Wes Moore                                       

finshed: Sept 11  

NF  9

Two boys are born about the same time, same neighborhood. Both lost their fathers very early in their lifes. The 1^st Wes learned about the second when he read a story about his hold neighborhood and a robbery and shooting of a cop. One of the suspects was named Wes Moore. He began to wonder about that other Wes Moore and this is some of both their story. One went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, army, work for the government (Condalisa Rice). The other went on the sell drugs and end up  in jail for life. Interesting, thoughtful story.

The Buddha in the Attic              

author: Julie Otsuka                      

finished: Sept 11       

9

This book is like poetry, but it is not written in that style or rhyme. It just feels that every sentence matters and means something. No skip reading here. It is a small book, but very densely packed. It is about many Japanese women that were matched up with Japanese men in America. The women were in Japan and only got letters and pictures from there intended husbands. As it turned out, the pictures were very outdated and the offered descriptions were not true. The women thought they were marry bankers, or well to do men. In reality the men were farm workers and the women’s lives would be very hard. I was impressed by the women’s sense of sacrifice so their children could have a better life. It is an interesting story, told in a very poetic way. I believe it is historical fiction.

Miss Peregrine’s home for peculiar children   

author: Ransom Riggs      

finished: Sept 11  

REALLY LIKED   9

A grandfather and grandson are close. The Grandfather dies in a hard way. All are sad. The grandson in particular. The grandfather always told the grandson peculiar stories. The Grandson, (oh, I can’t remember his name! Let’s call him Carl), Carl and his father go to and Island by England to try and learn some of the Grandfather’s secrets of his life. I really enjoyed this book. VERY different. It has fantastic pictures. Please read and tell me how you liked it. It is off center, not your usual novel.

The Quickie                              

author: James Patterson                 

finished: Sept 11        

5

A woman believes her husband cheated on her. There relationship has not been good for awhile. A co-worker has been flirting with her, so she decided to call him over and see where it leads.

One Good, One LOVED Book

Minding Ben
by: Victoria Brown
Finished: Sept 2011
rating: 8/9 Language

I really liked this book. Kind of reminded me of The Help. I don’t give it a full 9 because the author used language in parts that I did not like. It is a story of a young girl, 16, that leaves Trinidad to be a nanny in New York City. Her experiences are amazing. She worked for 2 different families, but the book mostly tells of her life with the 2nd family. I really liked her writing. You could hear and see what she was telling about. I would recommend it.

Left Neglected
by: Lisa Genova
Finished: Sept 2011
rating: 10 LOVED

This is the 2nd novel of the author. She writes so well. She writes about parenting in a funny way and if you are a parent, you can relate to. She is funny, and light, yet with a great story, great meaning great lessons. This book is about a woman how is a Harvard MBA, works 70 hours a week, has 3 children including a 9 month old. A husband that she loves who also works like crazy. They have a high moving, high cost lifestyle. While driving to work one rainy morning and trying to make a phone call, she gets in an awful car accident and has a brain injury. When she wakes up a week later in the hospital, she feels fine, mostly. What she does not realize is that she can no longer recognize her left side, or the left side of anything. It is a syndrome called Left Neglect. This is one of my TOP books I’ve read this year. All read it!!