My Own Little Book Corner

I'm late with my May books, and have condensed my reviews.   I haven't put a summary of the books.   As always, you can click the link to get a synopsis.   Things just got busy and I have just got around to finishing up this post.    My favorite book in May was "The Lioness".   "Once There Were Wolves" was a pleasant surprise and the most useful book I've read in a while, without being a dry read was "Laundry Love".    The Love of My Life   Rosie Walsh ⭐⭐⭐ This is a book that was passed on to me by my sister.   For the most part, I enjoyed it.   I became invested in the characters, especially the husband, Leo.   I wanted to have resolution and know where Leo and Emma's relationship ended up.  The downside is that most of the characters seem to have the same emotion as motivation behind their actions.   While reading it, they almost all blended into one person.  Plus I kept ...

The Office of Desire by Martha Moody This is an interesting story that covers many layers and types of desire and what happens when you give into it and also when you don't. It is set in a small doctor's office that has 5 employees, each with their own desires whether for love, money, faith, happiness, etc. It is interesting how each one deals with the desire and in the end you see the right and the wrong choices. A well written story. The Broker by John Grisham I guess I'm taking a little step back in time reading a John Grisham novel that harkens back to the first type novels that he authored. While it was an interesting book, it was also a little confusing to me. It took me a while to understand how the broker was being set up and why. If you like Grisham though, you'll like this one. It's his standard fare, set in a foreign country with just enough suspense to make you think you know where it's going, but maybe not. Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell What a di...

A Father's Story by Lionel Dahmer I think it's normal to view any event from the stage of life you are in. As I've gotten older, I view most events as a parent so it was interesting to read a book about a real life horror story written from a dad's perspective. I did feel at times like Mr. Dahmer was over analyzing events that happened in his son's young life. But then I also think that would be the normal thing to do - to look back for signs of what was to come and to try to figure out if there was anyway that it could have been avoided. He makes no excuses for his sons behavior, and in the end seems still as confused by it as most of us are. An interesting book. Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman The story of a woman who almost stumbles into a nomadic life. Ms Gelman finds herself in a marriage that is crumbling so she suggests a separation. To her surprise, not only is her husband in favor of it, but he thinks it should be for a longer amount of time...

Stop Dressing Your Six Year Old Like a Skank by Celia Riverbark This was a great book to read while working out. I laughed - probably because I could relate to so much of what she wrote. Very entertaining! The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton This was an ok book. It was interesting, but at the same time I found it to be fairly predictable. Ms Hamilton does a good job of describing the land and the people in a way that made you really see it in your mind. It is interesting to realize that there is a real Camel Bookmobile and it makes the story even more believable. Forgive Me by Amanda Ward This was an interesting story. It is a story full of plot twists and set in both America and Cape Town. At times it was hard to get into. Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas This is the story of a town that finds itself hosting a Japanese internment camp and the effect it has on the different citizens - most of whom are very prejudice towards the Japanese. A very good book. Levi's Will by W. Dale C...

I'm way behind on my reviews so these will be short and sweet - or not so sweet depending on the book. Born Standing Up: A Comics Life by Steve Martin A interesting read. I was in college when I first heard of Steve Martin. In fact, Arkansas Tech was on his college tour - yes the balloon animals, dart through the head, etc. Saw it all. Not only is this story interesting because of it being Steve Martin's story, it is also interesting to read about the people that have been in and out of his life. Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur by Halima Bashir Powerful story written from the heart. It's sad to realize what is going on in different parts of the world. What to Keep by Rachel Cline A well written story. This covers parts of 3 different decades in Denny's life beginning with the distant, somewhat neglectful childhood thourgh adulthood as a successful playwriter. So Brave, Young and Handsome by Leif Enger A cowboy adventure story. The narrator is a p...

Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress This is the second Mark Childress book I've read and it wasn't as funny as One Mississippi, but it does have the same dark comedy. I never saw the movie but can see how it would transfer to film well. The story is about a woman who basically gets fed up with her husband who is stiffling her acting career, kills him, but can't completely let him go. While all that is going on, there is a civil rights uprising in the city she left behind. A very entertaining book that is thought provoking in it's own way. When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan by Peggy Noonan Reading this made me long for the days when Reagan was president. I know he didn't do everything right, but I do believe he was a man of character and morals who would seek God's guidance above all else. This should be required reading for all to see how America can be if we have the right leadership. The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin Another great nov...

I'm so far behind on my reviews. What follows is abbreviated reviews of some of the books I've read this year. On this list my top 3 would be - Three Junes, Same Kind of Different as Me, and A Thousand Splendid Suns Three Junes by Julia Glass I wasn't sure about this book when I first started it, but found myself drawn to the story and the people. It is about family and the expectations they put on each other and on themselves, and about love and basically just surviving life. Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier This is an easy read that is best described as a story. I found nothing deep in it or any layers, but did enjoy the word picture it presented. It is set in Holland and I could picture the life and the world that the characters inhabited. Another decent book. Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore A true story that is a tribute to a woman who saw people through the eyes of God. She lived a life of grace and service that reflected God...

Everything Must Go by Elizabeth Flock A story about a family affected by a terrible tragedy. The story is more about the paths that their life's take following the tragedy and the dynamics that follow. It is a depressing story and I still haven't decided if I'm glad I read it or not. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson I like Ms Jackson's books - this being the third of hers I read. When I started this one I wasn't so sure, but as I got into it and the characters developed, I found myself drawn in. I was a little disappointed in the ending - too much like a movie ending for me. But well worth the read. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch I must of been the last person on the face of the earth to know about this book. It was a Christmas gift from my good friend, June, and I hadn't heard of it before receiving it. I expected this to be a little depressing, but it really was full of positivity. In some ways it was a little too "surface level...

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...

Ready to Fall by Claire Cook Don't bother reading this book. I like the premise of a book written around written correspondence only - whether it's letters, e-mails, IM's, etc. I seldom like the story that goes along with the premise though. This one is not an exception. The main character is going through a mid-life crisis of sorts and sets her sights on her soon to be divorced neighbor. The only interesting part is when she goes off to "Special Delivery" camp to discover herself. The stories about what happens while there are entertaining. But I never liked any of the characters in the book - all too self absorbed and boring. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer This one was not exactly what I expected. I thought thee would be more about what happened in Alaska that resulted in Mr. McCandless' death. While that is covered some, the main story is about his travels before Alaska. There are also stories of other people with a vagabond heart and speculation on how th...

Summer of Light by W. Dale Cramer This is the story of a man who finds himself thrown into the role of stay at home dad. This wasn't his choice, but like many things in his life, there seems to be a larger plan to his life than his own. It is a story of faith - faith found on many different levels. The faith that sometimes we are aware of having and follow gladly and then the faith that sometimes sneaks up on us and we are almost forced to have. It is an interesting book, but I would have liked a little more detail to the story. It may be because it was written by a man so he comes from a different point of view, but I felt like there could have been more emotion to the story. All in all, worth reading just not exactly what I expected. Breach of Faith:Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City by Jed Horne I am glad I read this book. It brought back some memories of a time not long ago when New Orleans found itself facing one of the greatest disasters in...

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 enjo...

Atonement by Ian McEwan "On a summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses the flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant. But Briony's incomplete grasp of adult motives and her precocious imagination bring about a crime that will change all their lives, a crime whose repercussions "Atonement" follows trough the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century." This is the second of Mr. McEwan's books that I've read, having read "Saturday" as my last book in 2007. Like "Saturday" I found "Atonement" to get off to a slow start, but knowing what good reviews it has gotten and based on past experience, I hung in there and I'm glad I did. Mr. McEwan can take me away to another time and place. I liked how he showed the different view points of the actions that were taken place. I wasn't surprised by much in the book, but it was a g...

Blood Orange by Drusilla Campbell "Dana Cabot cannot remember the kind of person she was before May 29th, the day she became angry at God, at her workaholic attorney husband, and herself. The day her seven-year-old daughter, Bailey, disappeared. As the months wear on without a trace of her adorable but troubled child, Dana can't help blaming her husband's controversial defense of an accused abuser for playing a role in the abduction - and it shows in the strain on their marriage. But then a shocking event offers a clue to what really happened to Bailey - and Dana's unwitting part in it. Haunted by the unthinkable consequences of revealing everything she knows, Dana must decide whether to keep the truth to herself - or risk losing the rest of her family." This story didn't exactly follow the path that I expected, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I expected more of a "Deep End of the Ocean" story, but this is more of a story about what led ...

Patty Jane's House of Curl by Lorna Landvik "Maybe Patty Jane Dobbin should know better than to marry a man as gorgeous as Thor Rolvaag, but she's too smitten to think twice. Yet nine months into their marriage, with a baby on the way, Thor is gone. It's a good thing Patty Jane has her irrepressible sister Harriet to rely on - not to mention her extremely short, extremely rich almost-brother-in-law, Avel Ames." This is a story of family, friendship and life. It is not a feel good story, but it is full of warm emotion. I enjoyed getting to know Patty Jane, Harriet, Ione and Nora. They each had highs, lows, good and bad - just like in real life and handled it in their own way. Through it all they were there for each other and for others too. 4 stars Into Thin Air:A Personal Account of Mount Everest by Jon Krakauer "In this definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest, Jon Krakauer takes the reader step-by-step from Katmandu to the moun...

I've already recommended Paperbackswap.com as a great place to get and get rid of your books. I've recently signed up at another site - Bookins . This site is different from Paperbackswap in several ways. At Bookins each book is assigned a different point value where at PB each book is one credit (except audio books which are 2.) The other main difference is that with Bookins you print out the postage for any books you send out at no cost to you. You then pay $3.99 for each book you receive. UPDATE - I got the Bookins newsletter today and beginning Sept. 23 the price will increase to $4.49 per book. Not so sure if that's going to be a good deal for me or not. Other minor differences are that there is no "community" at Bookins. The books are all sent "delivery confirmation" so there is no need to log on and confirm that you received the book. Paperbackswap is my favorite of the 2 because of the simplicity of 1 credit for 1 book. Plus while I like the i...

1. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton 2. The Brambles by Eliza Minot 3. Night by Elie Wiesel 4. City of Light by Lauren Belfer 5. My Brother's Keeper by ReShonda Tate Billingsley 6. The Justice Game by Randy Singer 7. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 8. Summer Island by Kristin Hannah 9. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay 10. Idyll Banter by Chris Bohjalian 11. A Stolen Season by Steve Hamilton 12. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld 13. Carry Me Home by Sandra Kring 14. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik 15. Rachel and Leah by Orson Scott Card January Reviews 16. The Risk Pool by Richard Russo 17. Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone by J.K. Rowling 18. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling 19. Good to Great in God's Eyes by Chip Ingram 20. The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg 21. Club Sandwich by Lisa Samson 22. Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon 23. Bad Ground by W. Dale Cramer 24. Wicked by Gregory Maguire 2...

1. Everything Must Go by Elizabeth Flock 2. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson 3. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch 4. The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar 5. Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund 6. Red River by Lalita Tademy 7. Ahmads War, Ahmads Peace: Surviving Under Saddam by Michael Goldfarb Book Reviews 8. Three Junes by Julia Glass 9. Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier 10. Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore 11. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 12. A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute 13. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux Book Reviews 14. Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress 15. When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan by Peggy Noonan 16. The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin 17. Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison 18. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult Book Reviews 19. Born Standing Up: A Comics Life by Steve Martin 20. Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur by Halima Bashir...

1. "Patty Jane's House of Curl" by Lorna Landvik 2. "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer 3. "The Girls" by Lori Lansens 4. "Dark of the Moon" by John Sandford Book Reviews 5. "Blood Orange" by Drusilla Campbell 6. "Angel's Rest" by Charles Davis 7. "If I Gained the World" by Linda Nichols Book Reviews 8. "Atonement" by Ian McEwan 9. "Perfect Match" by Jodi Picoult 10. "The Patron Saint of Liars" by Ann Patchett Book Reviews 11. "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 12. "The Myth of You and Me" by Leah Stewart 13. "Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife" by Irene Spencer 14. "Something Rising (Light and Swift)" by Haven Kimmel 15. "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs 16. "You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again" by Suzanne Hansen 17. "Innocent Traitor: A Novel o...

1. "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult 2. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee 3. "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards 4. "Conviction" by Richard North Patterson 5. "The Little House" by Philippa Gregory Review of January Books 6. "Split Second" by David Baldacci 7. "Life on the Color Line" by Gregory Howard Williams 8. "Protect and Defend" by Richard North Patterson 9. "Independence Day" by Richard Ford 10. "The Pact" by Jodi Picoult 11. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen Review of February Books 12. "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt 13. "Original Sin" by Brandt Dodson 14. "Keeping Faith" by Jodi Picoult 15. "The Queen's Fool" by Philippa Gregory 16. "The Bible Jesus Read" by Philip Yancey 17. "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver 18. "Midwives" by Chris...