My Own Little Book Corner

Hard to believe that another month has flown by and it's time for my much anticipated book reviews. (Read sarcasm there.) But whether you like them or not, I'm going to keep them up. I will try to keep them short though. So here goes - The first book of the month was "The Time Travelers Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. This book will mess with your head. This is the story of a man who has a genetic disorder that causes him to travel through time. It was a little confusing to me at times because of the past, present, future thing – even at times there being 2 Henry's at different ages. But it is an interesting concept and story. I would have liked to read more about why Clare was so attracted to him, but overall a good read - 5 stars. "Light on Snow" by Anita Shreve was my next read. It is a touching story of a father and daughter coping with the loss of their wife/mother and daughter/sister. The father couldn't stand the memories, loaded up the girl, N...

Note to my BR friends - if you would like to read any of these books, let me know. If I still have them, I'm happy to loan them out! March was a busy reading month for me. I started the month with "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt. This is a memoir of his life growing up in Ireland. His was a poor family with a father that couldn’t stay away from the pubs. Through all the pain and sadness, Mr. McCourt tells his story with a touch of humor. It's not my favorite writing style but I soon found the rhythm and could hear the story being told. Jan's rating - 4 Stars "Original Sin" by Brandt Dodson was the next book I read. Easy reading mystery about an ex-FBI agent and his first case as a private investigator. Brandt Colton is hired to investigate who killed Emma Caine – a “upstanding” high school counselor. Her nephew is in jail accused of the crime, but his girlfriend, Angela, believes he is innocent. Colton is a good PI and enters the investigation w...

I was able to read 6 books this month and while they weren't quite the "jackpot" of January, they were good books. Here's a quick review of each one. "Split Second" by David Baldacci was the first book of the month. I've read several of his books and generally enjoy them. While this one was an easy read and entertaining, I found there were several weak spots in the plot. The basic story is about one ex-secret service agent and a current secret service agent who both had "lost" presidential candidates - one through an assassination and the other through a kidnapping. They join in an investigation of the latest event. Not my favorite book, but not a complete waste of time either. This one gets 3 1/2 stars from me for being barely above average. The next book, "Life on the Color Line:The True Story of A White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black" by Gregory Howard Williams was a disappointment to me. I think I expected too much from it. Las...

January's over so I thought I'd give a brief review of the books I've read this month. I discovered some real gems. I started the year with "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. This is the tale of a family that faces some hard decisions when they discover their daughter has leukemia. They have a baby so they can have a donor to help save their daughter's life. This story is years later and is about the effect all of this has had on the individual members of the family and the family as a whole. It is very well written and makes you think. I give it 5 Stars. My next book was the classic "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Very easy to believe that the events took place - unfortunately. A classic tale about the racial divide. Another 5 Star book. "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards is a story that begins in the 60's. Dr. David Henry ends up delivering his babies due to a snow storm. The fact that it was twins was ...

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...