Monday, March 9, 2009

Still Reading (and Coughing)



One good thing about being sick...I cleared off my reading shelf!

(This time I've included author websites, when available. Just click on the names.)

The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the Town that Raised Them by Amy Dickinson: A gentle memoir about a mom and her daughter, post-divorce. It didn't rock my world, but it was a pleasant read. (Amy Dickinson writes Ask Amy, by the way.)

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates: I wasn't sure what to expect, but the Fifties setting appealed to me, so I gave it a try. It was a little heavy compared to all the fluff I read, but it isn't a complicated story, and it's well written. Liked it.

Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani: Huge disappointment! I've enjoyed other Trigiani books, but this one seemed to go nowhere. Boo!

Addition by Toni Jordan: (This is the book that mentioned the Cuisenaire rods.) About a woman who is obsessive about counting things. Surprisingly good. The counting does get a little tiresome, but I suspect that was the intention! My favorite book of this bunch!

The Mercy Papers: A Memoir of Three Weeks
by Robin Romm: I couldn't get into this book. I'm not sure what I expected from a book about a daughter's last three weeks with her mother, but nothing about this book touched me or stayed with me.

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy: I know I just dinged another book for going nowhere, but... This is another one that doesn't have a whole lot of plot, but darn it, I just like reading Binchy! Not her best effort, but enjoyable.

Dying in Style by Elaine Viets: What would a list be without a mystery? The first in the Josie Marcus series and the best of the three I've read.

See You In a Hundred Years: Discover One Young Family's Search for a Simpler Life...Four Seasons of Living in the Year 1900 by Logan Ward: The title says it all! The book focused mostly on relationships, both between the author and his wife and the couple and the community. I was expeciting more about the mechanics of what they did, but this was interesting! One thing I really wanted was MORE PICTURES! There were only two in the book, but there are more here.

3 comments:

Julie Zaccone Stiller said...

Hey there, sorry you're still coughing. Glad you got to read all those books. The last one sounds really interesting. You'll like this post on my blog: http://highfibercontent.blogspot.com/2009/03/surprise-award-received.html

Anonymous said...

Hope you are feeling better, and I'm glad you liked DYING IN STYLE.
It's one of my favorites, too.
Elaine Viets

Anonymous said...

I love your book posts! You made me realise that I have no excuse for not reading. If you can read eight books a month (?) then surely I can read one!