Jo's 2010 Reading Journey

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

2. A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman by Joan Anderson
(re-read)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

3.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
(re-read, group read, gilmore girls reading challenge 2010)

4.
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell

5.
Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan
(book club)

[Cheryl S.]

Hey Jo--I finally checked this out. I do have a memory card, but I have no port for it on my hard drive. Also do you know what the life expectancy is for a memory card?

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Hhhmmm, life expectancy for a memory card? I don't honestly know, maybe try Googling it. I never gave that any thought! (Guess I should look into that myself). To clarify, do you not have a place to insert it into your computer in the tower where you would insert a disk or cd? Do you have a cd rom drive?

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

6.
Saving Ceecee Honeycutt: A Novel
(Southern Lit Lovers group read, 5 of 5 stars)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

7.
The Lace Makers of Glenmara
(5 of 5 stars!)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

8.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
(Library book club's 1st selection, 1 of 5 stars)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

9.
O Come Ye Back to Ireland: Our First Year in County Clare
(4 of 5 stars)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Currently reading: Sufficient Grace: A Novel. This is a re-read, a second go around. I'm falling more in love with it this time than the first! I do believe this is my #1 all time favorite novel.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

10.
The Quarry
(4 of 5 stars, April's library book club choice)

11.
Sufficient Grace: A Novel
(5 of 5 stars, Southern Lit Lovers gr's April group read)

[Dee]

Jo wrote: "Has anyone who's read Gift read A Year by the Sea Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman? Gift reminded me of this and it's an all time fave. I'm going to re-read it this month."

I read this book when my children were younger. I enjoyed it very much and at that time, I wanted to live for a year by myself by the sea too. I was a bit overwhelmed by motherhood I think.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

12.
The Sea
(2.5 stars, May's library book club choice)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

13.
Plainsong
(4 of 5 stars, June's library book club choice)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

14. Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children
(5 of 5 stars, great for all gardeners, w/or w/out children).

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

15. A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman
(Re-read - 5 of 5 stars as always).

[Cheryl S.]

I read "Roots, Shoots" many yrs ago and loved it. I don't have it anymore and wish I did!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

I'm going to try and order it from B&N this week. I want to try some of her ideas for next year.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

16.
Orchid Thief
(July book club pick, 1 of 5 stars).

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

17.
Practical Magic
(4 of 5 stars).

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

18.
The Secret Life Of CeeCee Wilkes
(4 of 5 stars)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

19.
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage
(3 of 5 stars)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

20.
Little Chapel on the River: A Pub, a Town and the Search for What Matters Most
(3.5 to 4 of 5 stars, gave it 4 stars)

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Hm I've lost track! lol! Catching up and not in the right order until # 26:

21. The Lost Quilter
22. To Kill a Mockingbird
23. An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England (book club)
24. My Cousin Rachel (book club)
25. The Great Santini (book club)
26. The Christmas Cookie Club

[Cheryl S.]

Would you recommend "My Cousin Rachel"? I've never read it. My regular book clubs selection for this month is "A Tale of Two Cities" and I'm very bored with it. Just not my cup of tea. In the meantime I decided to read "Gai Jin" which is part of a series by James Clavell starting with "Shogun" which was made into a movie a while back. I've read the rest of the series and somehow missed this one. It's paperback, tiny print and over 1200 pages and not as interesting as the rest of the series. Between these two books I just may go blind.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

lol! Hubbs read the Sho-Gun series, I tried but that tiny print drove me crazy! (He has the paperbacks!)

I woudnt recommend My Cousin Rachel unless you like English literature. It wasn't my cup of tea. I loved A Tale Of Two Cities when we read it back in high school but not sure if I'd like it now. I am going to finish reading A Christmas Carol this season come heck or high water! I start it every year and never finish. (Not sure why, I love it).

This months book club picks are The Shipping News and Love In The Time Of Cholera. I'm not liking either as of yet!

[Cheryl S.]

I don't think I ever finished "Shipping" but I did kind of like "Cholera", it was just so bazare I had to finish it I guess. I do like some English Lit, so I might give "Rachel" a try.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

I'm not liking Shipping News at all! I don't know what I expected, but it's not what I expected, ya know?

And now I want to stick with Cholera because of your comment, lol!

[Cheryl S.]

I felt the same way about "Shipping".

I joined a new book club last night---memoirs only. A really nice book store recently opened in a small town 9 miles from me and a friend and I decided to join this club. As it happens we were the only two there!! We are hoping to spread the word and get more members as time goes on. We chose a book by a woman who worked as a volunteer in a prison entitled "Running the Books". The store owner is a member of this group, seems very personable and interesting and says opening a book store has been a life long dream. The store also sells t-shirts, hats, jewelry, really unique bookmarks, stationary, coffees, teas, snacks and condiments. In addition there is a connecting door with a Dunn Bro. Coffee. The store has two separate reading areas, one for adults, one for kids furnished with big cozy chairs and couches. My friend and I thought we were in heaven!

The Dunn Bro. also has a reading area by a fireplace and a separate conference room that is available for use if food or bev is purchased in their store. I think my other book club may have found a new home.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

That sounds great Cheryl!

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

27.
Winter Bloom
5 of 5 stars.

Top read of 2010 for me. Beautifully and brilliantly written, enchanted me right from the start. As I neared the end, I didn't want it to end. Touched on several subjects close to my heart and on area's I didn't expect. Inspirational and truly heart warming. A definite re-read in the future.

The Lace Maker's of Glenmara and Harry Potter Year 1 round out the top reads with this one so far.

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

28.

Finished reading A Christmas Carol from A Christmas Carol/The Chimes/The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens.
4 of 5 stars.

[Cheryl S.]

I just read "A Tale of Two Cities" for my regular book club and that's enough Dickens for me for awhile. I did get into the story eventually and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. There are a lot of younger people in my book club and it was interesting to hear their take on the writing style and interpretation of different aspects of the book.