Thursday, July 23, 2009

Good Batch of Books!


Dark Places by Gillian Flynn-- Oooh, this was a good one! It's dark, and it can be creepy at times, but it was a page turner. Go here and you can read a bit of it. Or a lot of it. Watch it, you'll get sucked in.




Miss Harper Can Do It by Jane Berentson--From the mouth of the author when she attempts to describe the book to friends and acquaintances: “Oh, it’s like this fake memoir about this woman whose boyfriend goes away and she goes all nutso. But it’s also a family drama/comedy thing. A “dramaedy” ? Is that a word people use? Anyway, it’s got lots of jokes in it and some scientific facts. So uh, yeah. I like your sweater.” (From JB's website.) There's a cute chicken video to watch there too, but her blog is a little...sparse.

Under the Table: Saucy Tales from Culinary School by Katherine Darling-- A foodie book without a cover blurb from Anthony Bourdain! How did that happen? Covering yet another aspect of the cooking world, this book focuses on the author's progress through cooking school. It stayed pretty focused, which I appreciated.

The next two are Persephone Classics. I read about these books on another blog, and they sounded intriguing, but these are the only two I can locate at local libraries. Interlibrary loan to the rescue!


Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson-- You may have seen the movie...I have too, now that I've read the book. I think they are especially good in combination. The book was lovely to read, but I loved seeing it come to life on the screen.





Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple-- Over four hundred pages about an "ordinary family" seemed a little daunting at first, but I really enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it's for everyone. If you're looking for something kind of quiet and steady, though, give it a try.




No One You Know by Michelle Richmond-- Richmond is the author of The Year of Fog, which I liked quite a bit, but this book isn't as strong. The writing was good, but the whodunnit aspect is kind of flat.

Building a Home with My Husband: A Journey Through the Renovation of Love
by Rachel Simon-- I would have liked to read more about the home renovation and less about the relationship renovation, but that's me, and I realize that's not what this book was supposed to be. I would like to see pictures of the renovated house, though!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for doing these posts. I wouldn't know what I wanted from the library without you.:)

sherri s. said...

Thanks for the book reviews! I'm always looking for something new to read...love your skirts, too! I keep waiting for a weekend where there aren't a thousand thing to do so I can get out my dust-covered machine and sew something!

Darling Petunia said...

I'm glad I can help! Sherri, skirts and reading are pretty much what I'm all about, LOL!