Bookish

An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor: It sort of reminds me of a D.E. Stevenson book in that it kind of rolls along, weaving together the various villagers' stories. It just wasn't as entertaining as her books, and it went on a little too long.
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Cherries in Winter: My Family's Recipe for Hope in Hard Times by Suzan Colon: I liked the idea of this book, but I thought the author was reaching when she characterized her situation as "hard times." That, I admit, put me off a bit. Overall okay, but a touch boring.
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Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown: About what you'd expect from a Sandra Brown thriller. Sometimes that's just what you need, though. Pretty good.
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La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith: I felt, when I was reading this, as if McCall Smith was trying to cash in on the success of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. That said, I had no problem with it whatsoever. I loved Guernsey, I love AMS, and I loved La's Orchestra.
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A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: Yeah, I'd never read it. Reading stuff like this makes me feel like a real dolt, because the language goes right over my head sometimes, but it was nice to finally fit together what I knew about Scrooge and Marley and the ghosts.
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Slaying is Such Sweet Sorrow by Patricia Harwin: One of the library patrons recommended this author and particularly this series (Far Wychwood Mysteries). I went into it with high hopes, but...nope. Didn't capture my imagination.
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The Baker's Daughter by D.E. Stevenson: I know, I know, enough with the D.E. Stevenson! I'm addicted! As usual, I loved it. I really need to start taking pictures of the book covers, though. They are so wonderfully dorky!
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Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier: This is one of those books where I slowed down and enjoyed every minute of it. I read a review that criticized it for having too much scientific detail about fossils...huh? Where?
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Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo: A murder mystery with an Amish element seemed promising, but the Amish element was barely present. Lukewarm.
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Super in the City by Daphne Uviller: This book doesn't know what it wants to be. It's chick lit, but it's sort of a mystery. The problem is, it isn't a great example of either one. Too many random, wacko elements.
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Mrs. Whippy by Cecelia Ahern: This is a wee little volume from the Open Door series to promote adult literacy in Ireland. I don't know how much they cost in Ireland, but this 75 page book would cost you TWELVE DOLLARS here in the States! That doesn't seem very encouraging to adult literacy. The story itself is okay, but isn't going to change your life.
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And finally, due to popular demand, I will divulge the title of one book I started in this group but could not finish:

Unfinished Desires by Gail Godwin: I got about sixty pages into it and just could not go on. Wasn't just me, either. A friend of mine also abandoned it.