Skip to main content

2008 Book Reviews - #4

Time to catch up! Since my last review I've read 17 books. You can follow the links for more details about each book if interested.

Since my last review I've read 3 non-fiction books -

Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer

Interesting book - worth the read. I read this right before the raid in Texas so it made all of that even more interesting. I still don't understand it all and will never agree with it, but feel a little more educated about the religion behind the belief.

You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again by Suzanne Hansen

Written by a girl from Oregon who kind of stumbles into being a nanny and then ends up in Hollywood working for the mover and shakers. A view into the life that is sometimes encouraging, but often not. Another enjoyable book.

Clapton by Eric Clapton

I am not a huge Eric Clapton fan but had read several reviews on this book that highly recommended it. My sweet friends gave it to me for my birthday and I did enjoy reading it. He has led an interesting life spanning many different stages to end up at a good place. Found out some surprising and some not so surprising things about Clapton. Another good read.

Of the remaining books I've grouped them into books I rate about average and those just so-so. First the "above" ones -

The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart

A touching story about relationships. Well written.

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs

Another story about relationships. A little predictable at times. I did feel like I knew the characters and wanted to follow their story.

Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey by Allison Weir

Another historical novel from the Henry VIII time period. My first one to red by Allison Weir and I enjoyed it. I like Phillipa Gregory a little more, but will read more by Ms Weir.

The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle

This turned into one of those "wow" books for me. I was drawn into the story and highly recommend this book.

Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin

I like Charles Martin books. This one did not disappoint, even though I did find it a little predictable at times. It's not my favorite of his, but still ranks up there as a good book to read.

The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin

Along the lines of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Quirky main character, good story. My first Steve Martin book. I'm looking forward to reading more.

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian

As I've said before, I like Chris Bohjalian books. He always has a lot of layers and has a way of making me personalize things. Another good one.

The Devil in the Junior League by Linda Francis Lee

Good summer book - no heavy thinking, no heavy plot, just a fun book. Anyone from the South will know these people!

Embrace Me by Lisa Samson

Very well written and interesting book. It examines a lot of things about the church and Christians set against about as strange a backdrop as you can imagine.

Now for the "so-so" books. I'm just going to make a blanket statement about them all - None of them were so bad that I didn't finish them - they just didn't grab or entertain me as I had hoped they would.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Maybe I expected too much from this book, and I know it is deeper than what appears on the surface, but at times I felt as if I were trudging through.

Something Rising (Light and Swift) by Haven Kimmel

After reading her autobiography, I expected a highly entertaining book. I was disappointed - never really connected to the story.

Flies on the Butter by Denise Hildreth

This is a borderline average book - maybe a little higher. Written by the author of the Savannah books. It was a good enough book, once again just not quite as good as I expected.

The Cat Who Went Into the Closet by Lilian Jackson Braun

Entertaining enough - what I would call a fluffy novel. I enjoy lighter reading too and while this one wasn't awful, it just wasn't my style.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

July 2024 Reads

I read 8 books this month   I enjoyed them all with 4 of them rating 4 stars, and 4 of them rating 3 stars.  Here are my thoughts on each one. The Husbands - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Holly Gramazio This was a fun book to read.    It stretched my normal “based in realty” self and it was an enjoyable ride.    There were a few plot holes and I expected a little more depth as far as what Lauren learned from the experience.    But overall it kept my attention and entertained.    Sometimes that’s enough from a book. The Drowning Woman - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Robyn Harding This was our book club pick for the month and it was a good choice.    I kept guessing where it was headed and was half right and half wrong.    It wasn’t always believable and the ending was a little too easy.    But getting there was a fun ride.   The plot does have some loose similarities to Housemaid - different settings but still a lot alike.    So y...

Rest of 2008 Books

I read too many books since my last review, so here's what I've read - American Bee:The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds by James Maguire - Don't waste your time There's No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled by Doug Lansky - An entertaining compilation of travel stories Portrait of a Killer Jack the Ripper Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell In Search of Eden by Linda Nichols Enduring Love by Ian McEwan - Check this one out Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich by Mark Kriegel - Another one worth the read. Especially if you like basketball, but even if you don't it's a good life story. While I was Gone by Sue Miller Who Stole the Funny? A Novel of Hollywood by Robby Benson - You should put this high on your to be read list. The Cross Examination of Oliver Finney by Randy Singer - Another good one. Well written and a good story. Turn Away Thy Son: Little Rock Crisis that Shock the Nation" by Elizabeth Jacoway - If you like history t...

2016 Book Reviews - August

After a 2 year hiatus, I think I will try doing short reviews of books again. I find even if nobody else reads it, it helps me to go back and see my impression of a book to then decide what to read in the future. August 2016 was not one of my better months in reading both in number of books and enjoyment. I would say for the most part, the books I read were ok, but none stood out. So here goes -   Freeman by Leonard Pitts This is a good story that will make you think.   It weaves the tale of people from different areas of life and the country after the abolishment of slavery.  We are introduced to those who have lived the life in slavery and those who have not, but sympathize with those who have.   We see idealist, realist and those who have no hope.  The stories are compelling. The reason I did not rate this book higher is that the entire time I was reading it, I read it as a TV script.   This is not Mr. Pitt's fault, it was just in my head...