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[Ronyell]

Alright Jeannette!! I hope you enjoy this book! :)

[[deleted user]]

It's not all "passionate" scenes, I hope? I really love a good story. They have it at a nearby library, so it's time for a road trip.

[Chrissie]

Laura, here is a link to The Women by T.C. Boyle: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77...

I cannot get the link button above to work!

Kirkus gave it a pretty good review, but it is a bit melodramatic in parts.

Just if you are interested.

[Laura]

thanks Chrissie, I will take a look after I finished the book.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

I'm reading a lot of comfort reads right now. I just finished Battle Dress which was a great young adult story about a young woman's first 6 weeks at West Point.

I'm now reading a WW2 spy/historical called Restless which seems fairly engaging but light.

[Lisa]

And I just finished the opposite (for me) of a comfort read: Burn by Nevada Barr (http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...). I usually really like her books but this one was overly disturbing for me.

I should read something light next. I do have Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos at home and I can probably renew it, and this series is funny so far, but I also have Crusade in Jeans at home (got it from the library today) and it's for a Goodreads' group read, so I might start that one next.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Lisa, I have the first of the Donna Andrews books home from the library. I hope to get to it in the next week or two.

[Lisa]

Lee wrote: "Lisa, I have the first of the Donna Andrews books home from the library. I hope to get to it in the next week or two."

It's very funny. I've read only the first two so far from the bird series. I like her other series too, the one that starts with You've Got Murder. I read that first, ages ago, and the first 3 (or 4) and then started the bird series and I think I like it even more. They each have different strengths.

[Lisa]

In the meantime (see Burn above), I'm trying to wash out my brain with soap. :-(

[Ronyell]

Jeannette wrote: "It's not all "passionate" scenes, I hope? I really love a good story. They have it at a nearby library, so it's time for a road trip."

So far, there aren't too many passionate scenes, but a couple of sexual tension between the characters!

[[deleted user]]

It sounds good, Ronyell. I hope you enjoy the ending! I hope to get it in the next couple of weeks. I always get more time for reading when my husband has to travel for business. :)

I just started The Beekeeper's Apprentice. I like the characters and the writing style.

[Ronyell]

That's great to hear Jeannette!! Is The Beekeeper's Apprentice like a fantasy book?

[[deleted user]]

Ronyell wrote: "That's great to hear Jeannette!! Is The Beekeeper's Apprentice like a fantasy book?"

It's a book written by a young woman (15) who meets Sherlock Holmes after he has retired and helps him solve cases. It's one of those books written from "discovered" journals. It is set during WWI, a more modern setting for Holmes, too,

Chalice is a great YA fantasy book about a beekeeper. Have you read it?

[Vicki]

I finished Shutter Island. Not really a comfort read, but a decent mystery. I am going to get into To the Nines, definitely a comfort read for me.

[[deleted user]]

Vicki wrote: "I finished Shutter Island. Not really a comfort read, but a decent mystery. I am going to get into To the Nines, definitely a comfort read for me."

Stephanie Plum is comfort to me as well. :)

[Kathy]

Jeannette wrote: "It sounds good, Ronyell. I hope you enjoy the ending! I hope to get it in the next couple of weeks. I always get more time for reading when my husband has to travel for business. :)

I just star..."

Oh, Jeannette, you've made me so happy! (wipes away tears of joy) I love this series with Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. I hope you will enjoy them a much as I have. I envy you just starting them.

[Kathy]

Chrissie, I finished Adam & Eve last night and am still putting together my thoughts for a review. I will tell you that it rates a 5 with me, and I think Naslund's writing is still amazing.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Kathy wrote: "Chrissie, I finished Adam & Eve last night and am still putting together my thoughts for a review. I will tell you that it rates a 5 with me, and I think Naslund's writing is still ..."

Yay!!!!! I've just ordered it from the library Kathy. I'm so glad you loved it.

[[deleted user]]

Kathy, I'm still hoping you'll read Snobbery With Violence one of these days. But I'm glad to make you (and Hayes) happy! :)

[Manybooks]

I've been reading mostly group reads this month so far, and as usual, I am a bit behind. I am almost finished reading Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, which I am actually enjoying a lot (reading it for the Newbery Club in the Children's Literature Group, if you do want to read it, make sure you are reading the original, and not the recent rewrite, which has gotten rather negative reviews). I've also finished reading (actually rereading) Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side for the Kindred Spirits Group, and it was a real joy to read this collection of spooky and more negative short stories by L.M. Montgomery again. I should now be starting Mary Poppins and The Root Cellar (more group reads, wow), but I became distracted by a really wonderful children's book that caught my fancy, Faith, Hope, and Ivy June, which not only shows the two different worlds of two young teenagers living in the same state (Kentucky), but also shows how hardship, danger and calamity can happen both in a small, economically depressed mining town, but also in the big city (both girls are faced with potential tragedies), well written and highly recommended.

[[deleted user]]

Thanks for the new LM Montgomery book; it's my second today! A friend just recommended Kilmeny of the Orchard.

[Chrissie]

Kathy, I am so curious to hear what you say!!!! WOW!

[Manybooks]

Jeannette wrote: "Thanks for the new LM Montgomery book; it's my second today! A friend just recommended Kilmeny of the Orchard."

That's one of the very few L.M. Montgomery stories which I actually did not like very much at all. But, I love the short story collections edited by Rea Wilmshurst:

Akin to Anne: Tales of Other Orphans

Along the Shore: Tales by the Sea

Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side

After Many Days: Tales of Time Passed

Against the Odds: Tales of Achievement

At the Altar: Matrimonial Tales

Across the Miles: Tales of Correspondence

Christmas with Anne and Other Holiday Stories

I don't like all of the stories, of course, but as a whole this collection is wonderful, and each volume contains source material (in which magazines etc. the stories were originally published) as well as an excellent introduction.

[[deleted user]]

Thanks, Gundula. I really never looked into all of her writing. She was quite prolific. I hope I can find some of these collections.

[Manybooks]

Jeannette wrote: "Thanks, Gundula. I really never looked into all of her writing. She was quite prolific. I hope I can find some of these collections."

Check on Amazon and ABE Books, or try local libraries. I have most of them as mass market paperbacks, but some of them are beginning to fall apart, literally.

[Ronyell]

Jeannette wrote: "Ronyell wrote: "That's great to hear Jeannette!! Is The Beekeeper's Apprentice like a fantasy book?"

It's a book written by a young woman (15) who meets Sherlock Holmes after he has retired and he..."

No I haven't read Chalice yet, Jeannette, but it does sound interesting! Is it like a mystery book?

[[deleted user]]

I'm reading The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears , but I haven't been able to get into it yet. It's a bookclub read. I did see that this author has a new book that people are making a fuss about. Hopefully it will grab me soon.

[[deleted user]]

Ronyell wrote: "No I haven't read Chalice yet, Jeannette, but it does sound interesting! Is it like a mystery book? "

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28...

Here is a link to my review page. I put this into a fantasy/fairy tale category. Robin McKinley also wrote

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast, which is one of the best re-tellings of Beauty and the Beast, imo. Another book like these would be Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.

[Kathy]

Busy Body: An Agatha Raisin Mystery

[Vicki]

Christine wrote: "Vicki wrote: "I finished Shutter Island. Not really a comfort read, but a decent mystery. I am going to get into To the Nines, definitely a comfort read for me."

Stepha..."

She is perfect when I need a good laugh. Also when all other books frustrate me, I go to these books because I know what to expect.

[Ronyell]

Jeannette wrote: "Ronyell wrote: "No I haven't read Chalice yet, Jeannette, but it does sound interesting! Is it like a mystery book? "

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28...

Here is a link to my revi..."

Thanks Jeannette!!!

[Lee, Mod Mama]

I've just started a children's book called The Root Cellar for a group read and it's charming so far.

[Lisa]

Lee wrote: "I've just started a children's book called The Root Cellar for a group read and it's charming so far."

It is. Very touching too. I ended up really liking it.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Yes, I saw that you awarded it four stars. I love when I start a book and it's effortless reading.

[Lisa]

Lee wrote: "Yes, I saw that you awarded it four stars. I love when I start a book and it's effortless reading."

Me too! Sometimes that's just what I need.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

After I wrote that last comment I thought gee, that makes me sound really lazy! Hahahaha, I'm glad you knew what I was trying to say.

[Lisa]

;-) I did. Besides, reading it supposed to be fun. Not every book has to be dense and challenging!

[Brenda]

The number one reason I love to read, for the fun of it!

[[deleted user]]

Brenda wrote: "The number one reason I love to read, for the fun of it!"

Me, too! :)

[Manybooks]

Lee wrote: "After I wrote that last comment I thought gee, that makes me sound really lazy! Hahahaha, I'm glad you knew what I was trying to say."

It's funny how so many of us feel guilty (or are made to feel guilty) about reading or enjoying books that are effortless to read. Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy reading challenging books, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with reading books for enjoyment and enjoying books that display an effortless, easy to follow narrative.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

Yes, it's the old mindset that if something isn't difficult than it's not valuable or worthwhile. Difficult to get rid of that one.

[Manybooks]

Lee wrote: "Yes, it's that old mindset that if something isn't difficult than it's not valuable or worthwhile. Difficult to get rid of that one."

For instance, I can now admit freely that I have tried to read James Joyce's Ulysses, and neither enjoyed it, not understood much of it (and, I was bored as well). However, I still think that many are actually afraid to admit that they do not like or have had problems understanding some of the denser, more complicated tomes of world literature. Also, there are times I enjoy reading complicated novels or complicated theoretical works, but I don't always HAVE to enjoy this (I don't like books which are too simplistic either, there needs to be a good combination, and I need a reasonable plot, not a mish-mash of stream of consciousness).

[Lee, Mod Mama]

I've never tried to read Ulysses but I have started books that were very, very slow and made the mistake of putting them aside for a time and having a difficult time getting back to them. I do find it satisfying to read things that are a little complicated. I always feel great once I'm done and glad that I pushed through.

[Chrissie]

Lee, Gundula dn Lisa, ME, I simply detest it when a person doesn't have the gumption to say that a "oh so very well acclaimed book" is impossible to get through...... Furthermore the very BEST writers know how to teach without making the reading difficult! Isn't the point to reach out to a wide range of people. It is the same with teachers and doctors . Those who REALLY understand what they are talking about can explain anything in very simple terms so that anybody can understand and become interested. Reading should not EVER be difficult. There is no need for that. OK, sometimes you cannot find a book that teaches a particular subject with gusto and imagination, then it IS necessary to read those difficult and dry ones. To call them good, that I cannot do. Simple, clear writing is aways better than complicated, obtuse and convoluted writing. Again that is just my opinion! This is an interesting topic!

[Manybooks]

Chrissie wrote: "Lee, Gundula dn Lisa, ME, I simply detest it when a person doesn't have the gumption to say that a "oh so very well acclaimed book" is impossible to get through...... Furthermore the very BEST writ..."

I agree, Chrissie. Also, there is a difference between books which are simple and books that I would consider simplistic. An easy to understand writing style, a clearly defined, interesting and satisfying story (plot-line) make for a good novel. However, if the writing style and plot are what I would consider trivial and simplistic, that is unacceptable as well (and is, for me, often worse than a novel which is a bit too involved and complicated, as I don't like feeling condescended to, either).

[Lisa]

Chrissie, I agree too. I like Einstein's quote: "If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself."
— Albert Einstein

which is only tangentially related, but this subject made me think of it. Of course, we all read books too advanced for six year olds, but you get the idea.

[Chrissie]

Gundula, I agree with you 100%. there is a difference between simple and simplistic. The latter is not a compliment!

Lisa, actually the message IS the same. Einstein said it so wonderfully. I DEFINITELY get the idea and agree wholeheartedly.

[Lee, Mod Mama]

That's a great quote from Einstein. I'm reminded of this daily when explaining things to my daughter. It's a great exercise to try and explain a complex issue in simple language without losing any important bits.

[Kristi]

Let the Great World Spin

[Dalene]

Home in Carolina by Sherryl Woods. Book 4 of a series. Very cute reads and touching.