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July 22
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Aceofhearts
gave
 
to:
You Suck: A Love Story (Hardcover)
by Christopher Moore
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"This book is the sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends. Jody has turned Tommy into a vampire and he must now learn some new habits. First they must find a new minion to do their daytime chores. They find a way to drink coffee without vomiting and they have t...more
This book is the sequel to Bloodsucking Fiends. Jody has turned Tommy into a vampire and he must now learn some new habits. First they must find a new minion to do their daytime chores. They find a way to drink coffee without vomiting and they have to decide what to do about a bronzed old vampire.
Tommy's old night crew friends blow all their money on a Vegas hooker and now the hooker wants Tommy's money too. I loved the way the minion took care of Jody and Tommy in the end
This book was very similar to the first but it was still entertaining....less
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July 21
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Aceofhearts
gave
to:
Good-bye and Amen: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Beth Gutcheon
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"When both parents die how does a family divide up the family heirlooms without causing irreparable rifts? Good-Bye and Amen is a book about just that.
Laurus Moss was a Danish Concert pianist married to privileged Sydney Brant. Sydney loved to cau...more
When both parents die how does a family divide up the family heirlooms without causing irreparable rifts? Good-Bye and Amen is a book about just that.
Laurus Moss was a Danish Concert pianist married to privileged Sydney Brant. Sydney loved to cause dissension among her three children (Eleanor, Monica and Jimmy). Even beyond the grave she attempts to cause fights by holding a lottery for her possessions.
Eleanor is the oldest child. A traditionalist who has a nice stable and secure life married to Bobbie. She wants things for her children.
Monica is the middle forgotten child. Sydney had never really helped Monica when Monica needed her and now everything seems to be dissolving right before her eyes. Monica married the charismatic Norman, a lawyer turned Episcopal priest. Norman also takes Monica for granted and just seems to think she is invisible. He is one of those types who seem to think woman are there to serve them and the world revolves around themselves. He has moved from parish to parish trying to move up the ladder to bishop.
Jimmy is the youngest. He had a difficult adolescence and had alienated himself from the family but has found his way back. His style of living in more carefree than the rest of the family.
The book is written from the perspective of each individual character. At first I had difficulty keeping them all straight and wished I had turned to the back of the book where they are all outlined. This book is so detailed in character development it almost reads like a non-fiction memoir.
I enjoyed the book and can only hope when my siblings and I are in the same circumstances we do as well as the characters in this book...less
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July 17
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Aceofhearts
gave
to:
Island of the Sequined Love Nun (Paperback)
by Christopher Moore
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"Tucker Case is a screw-up. When he destroys his company's jet while accompanied by a prostitute who wants to join the mile high club, he has to leave the United States and quickly.
He ends up in Micronesia hired to fly a brand new Lear jet for som...more
Tucker Case is a screw-up. When he destroys his company's jet while accompanied by a prostitute who wants to join the mile high club, he has to leave the United States and quickly.
He ends up in Micronesia hired to fly a brand new Lear jet for some Missionaries. How did he figure they could ever afford a jet? To get to the job, he misses the boat and ends up in a small boat with a cross-dressing navigator and a pet fruit bat. The navigator does not even consider checking weather forecasts and they are in a typhoon. By good luck, Tuck lands on the correct island but is almost dinner for an elderly member of the natives who inhabit the island.
I loved the book. It was outrageously funny and completely off the wall. A very entertaining read...less
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July 13
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Aceofhearts
gave
to:
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia (Paperback)
by Elizabeth Gilbert
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"This book is about one woman's journey for one year. Liz Gilbert went to Italy (eat), India (pray) and Bali (love). She has just suffered through a bitterly contested divorce and a failed love affair. First stop, Italy. Liz locates herself in Rome an...more
This book is about one woman's journey for one year. Liz Gilbert went to Italy (eat), India (pray) and Bali (love). She has just suffered through a bitterly contested divorce and a failed love affair. First stop, Italy. Liz locates herself in Rome and immerses herself in Italian language and food. She travels all over the country and has some of the most phenomenal meals. This was very interesting to me as I have just returned from Italy myself. I wish I could have eaten like Liz and not have had to worry about the weight gain.
Next stop, India. Liz now is at an ashram in India. This part is very spiritual and very dry. I just could not relate in any way. I am a practitioner of yoga but I can not envision myself meditating for hours on end. I could not get into this part at all
Next stop, Bali. Here Liz 'trains' with a Balinese medicine man. This part detailed some of the Balinese customs and ceremonies which are so totally different from the Western world. I enjoyed Wayan's cure of male infertility. Again I found this section interesting and even in parts very funny. It is fantastic that Liz is able to raise so much money so quickly to help her friends...less
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Aceofhearts
gave
to:
Mercy Street: A Magellan Project Novel (Hardcover)
by Mariah Stewart
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"Mary Corcoran's grandson Ryan and three of his friends met in a neighbourhood park. Two of them were shot dead and Ryan and Courtney Bauer are missing. Since there was no robbery and no other suspects, Ryan and Courtenay are presumed guilty. Ryan's g...more
Mary Corcoran's grandson Ryan and three of his friends met in a neighbourhood park. Two of them were shot dead and Ryan and Courtney Bauer are missing. Since there was no robbery and no other suspects, Ryan and Courtenay are presumed guilty. Ryan's grandmother believes in their innocence and wants to find out what really happened. Where are the missing teens? Why were they meeting in a park after dark? Robert Magellan, whose wife and infant son disappeared one year ago, agrees to fund the investigation by a competent investigator if one exists.
Enter Mallory Russo, ex-cop. Mallory has just resigned from the police force after a smear campaign forced her resignation. It was either resign or find herself alone in a dangerous situation or take a friendly bullet in the back. Mallory is reluctant to take the case but finds herself becoming intrigued and gets involved. She is a born investigator with the intuition and stubbornness required.
The police are dragging their feet as they are short-handed because there is a sniper on the loose. Charlie Wanamaker is Russo's replacement and assigned to the case. Mallory and Charlie work together to find the teens before the real killer does. There is lots of sizzle between these two.
Stewart pulls the reader into the book because her characters are so well developed. I wanted to smack the macho cop who has it in for Mallory.
This book is obviously a springboard for a series based on Mallory Russo. I want to find out about how Mallory's and Charlie's relationship develops and want to read about more of Mallory's cases. Will Mallory's next case be Magellan's lost wife?
...less
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July 06
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Aceofhearts
gave
to:
The Story of the Cannibal Woman: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Maryse Condé
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"Roselie's husband goes out late at night to a neighbourhood store and is killed. The police believe that it is not a robbery. Roselie now is left without any means of support and starts off using her talents as a clairvoyant. As Roselie starts to lea...more
Roselie's husband goes out late at night to a neighbourhood store and is killed. The police believe that it is not a robbery. Roselie now is left without any means of support and starts off using her talents as a clairvoyant. As Roselie starts to lead life on her own, she decides to follow in her husband's footsteps to try to solve his murder.
Life as a interracial couple is depicted with all the racism that Roselie is exposed to. Roselie also learns that Steven, her husband is not the man she thought he was. There are many people who actively dislike him.
I found this book extremely hard to read and to get into. I believe part of the problem is the translation is poorly done. The other problem is the style of the writing was just not to my taste. It was too lyrical for me....less
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July 04
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Aceofhearts
gave
to:
Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity (Hardcover)
by Kerry Cohen Hoffmann
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my rating:
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read in July, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"Kerry Cohen was first aware of her power over men at the age of eleven. Thereupon she progressed from kissing to petting to oral sex and an increasing promiscuity.
Kerry parents went through a divorce and then her mother decides to leave to pursue...more
Kerry Cohen was first aware of her power over men at the age of eleven. Thereupon she progressed from kissing to petting to oral sex and an increasing promiscuity.
Kerry parents went through a divorce and then her mother decides to leave to pursue a medical education in the Philippines. Kerry feels abandoned by both her mother and father. She is left with her father who does not seem to care or even to know how to parent. He often joined her friends in smoking a joint or even in providing the pot. He makes some very poor judgments. Her sister was handling the situation equally badly by isolating herself, leaving Kerry confused and seeking attention.
Attention is sought in the form of boys who show her they need her body. Kerry equates this with love, not knowing what real love is. Kerry gets more and more desperate for the attention and so-called 'love' it gives to her. Kerry tries so desperately to have a relationship but ends up dynamiting it by her neediness.
Kerry has been with so many partners she can neither recall all their names or even remember the exact number of encounters. She just wants to fill the emptiness of her soul.
Kerry realizes she needs help and seeks among other things, therapy. She finally realizes that she needs to love herself and to allow others to love her. I was appalled by her father's total carelessness in his parenting skills and her mother's total selfishness. This book shows that a parent's needs really must be secondary to the child's needs in order for that child to grow up to be a fully functioning adult.
It is a tribute to Kerry's strong will that she ended up in a loving and fulfilling relationship...less
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June 28
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Aceofhearts
gave
to:
Maggie Again (Hardcover)
by John D. Husband
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my rating:
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read in June, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"Maggie is very happy and carefree in 1926 when her father gets a dream investment job and moves from a farm in Cobbler's Eddy, Indiana to New York City. Maggie's three friends jump a boxcar to go visit her. They get locked in the boxcar and end up ar...more
Maggie is very happy and carefree in 1926 when her father gets a dream investment job and moves from a farm in Cobbler's Eddy, Indiana to New York City. Maggie's three friends jump a boxcar to go visit her. They get locked in the boxcar and end up arriving in 1984 just as Maggie is retiring from her job as an office manager in an insurance company, although they feel only a few days have passed.
Maggie's Dad made a fortune and lost a fortune in the stock market crash and Maggie's life was not as idyllic as she would of wished for. John D. Husband relates Maggie's life, telling the reader what has happened until her retirement at the age of 74.
Maggie teaches her friends about the changes that have occurred in the intervening years and then decides to return 'home'. The three boys jump off the train to make the return journey shorter and even 74 year old Maggie does, catapulting her back to 1926. Maggie is once again the sweet 16 year old girl. Will history repeat itself or can it be changed? How will Maggie get anyone to believe in her fantastical journey?
I thoroughly loved this book. It is a charming, delightful story. This is a great debut novel and I will look forward to the next...less
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June 22
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Aceofhearts
gave
to:
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming (Paperback)
by Joshilyn Jackson
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my rating:
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read in June, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"Laurel can see ghosts. When the ghost of her teenage daughter's best friend wakes her up, Laurel's perfect little world is turned topsy turvy. Laurel does not know how to protect her daughter(Shelby) from the police investigation or even how to find ...more
Laurel can see ghosts. When the ghost of her teenage daughter's best friend wakes her up, Laurel's perfect little world is turned topsy turvy. Laurel does not know how to protect her daughter(Shelby) from the police investigation or even how to find out what Shelby might be hiding.
Her computer geek husband calls in re-enforcements in the form of her insipid parents. Laurel feels she needs her abrasive sister Thalia to find out some answers. Laurel is a wishy-washy character. Thalia is the complete opposite.
The answers Laurel gets are about a lot of family skeletons; the death of her uncle, her mom's growing up in a slum and her husband's true feelings about their marriage.
Although this book is not well written the story line did grab me and carry me along. I wished that Laurel would finally grow a backbone. I loved all the little twists and turns the story took. I have not read Jackson's other books so can not compare this one....less
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June 20
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Aceofhearts
gave
to:
Death's Acre : Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab The Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales (Paperback)
by Bill Bass, Jon Jefferson
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my rating:
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read in June, 2008
Aceofhearts said:
"This book highlights Dr. Bill Bass's life and the creation of The Body Farm. Some of the cases Bass has consulted on are detailed, sometimes with too much detail. This book is not for those who have a weak stomach.
What is very interesting is how ...more
This book highlights Dr. Bill Bass's life and the creation of The Body Farm. Some of the cases Bass has consulted on are detailed, sometimes with too much detail. This book is not for those who have a weak stomach.
What is very interesting is how forensic anthropology has progressed over the years. From how bodies decompose to how dead bodies host insects and how each of these can backdate the time of death. Bass relates each of these scientific innovations with real life cases. Patricia Cornwell and her relationship to the real Body Farm is also noted.
Of particular interest to me was the Bernardo case and the dismemberment of Leslie Macaffery. A colleague of Bass is an expert in saw cuts on bones.
I have read Jefferson Bass books and it is curious to note how real people are incorporated into these stories...less
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