Get Your Read On

This Must Be the Place by Kate Racculia: I wasn't too sure about this one. A review I'd read made it seem as if it might be a little TOO quirky, but then came the day that it was the only book I had available, so I started to read it. As it turned out, I liked it! Yes, it's quirky, but it doesn't seem to be trying too hard. I HATE when they try too hard!

Goodnight, Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros: Yuck. Ptooey. Spit it out! Too sickeningly sweet.

Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain: This disappointed me. I love Anthony Bourdain on tv, but he wasn't likable in this book. Maybe a little too raw, eh?

[Notice how many times I've said "too" so far? Too sweet, too raw--I feel like Goldilocks. Hopefully I'll find a book that's just right.]

Fragile by Lisa Unger: Probably not a groundbreaking book for people who read thrillers all the time, but it suited me just fine. Very readable; not too convoluted. Sometimes there are so many twists in a book, I am barely keeping it all straight by the end.

How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway: I'm ashamed to admit that it's been so long since I read this, I can hardly remember anything about it. I know I liked it, but not why. But, hey, the author's blog is a good read, though, so the book was probably awesome! (Sorry, Margaret Dilloway. The mind is going, and I had bronchitis when I read it. Probably the meds.)

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton: A major surprise for me. I've avoided reading Morton's previous books, because they seemed too...I don't know...DRAMATIC or something, but I saw this book on a shelving cart, picked it up, and felt drawn to it. It was pretty dramatic--I can just see the movie version, with crashing thunder and shadowy castle scenes--but I enjoyed it. I guess a little drama is a good thing sometimes. Has anyone read either of her other books?

Mad River Road by Joy Fielding: I read this way back in December, when I was sick and cranky and didn't even feel like picking out books at the library. I just grabbed something we had here and started reading. It was okay--not too terribly demanding on my poorly brain.

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard: If you read the summary of this book at Amazon, you'll probably think it sounds ridiculous, like too much is going on. But somehow it works. I'll be looking for other Joyce Maynard titles.

Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin: This book gets a lot of mentions on blogs, so I felt it was time to see what all the fuss was about. Colwin has a unique voice, but I wasn't completely sold on the book. I liked the writing, but I think I wanted more of a plot.

Of course there were the requisite series mysteries:

Messenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear
Witches' Bane by Susan Wittig Albert

And, finally, I'll probably be including a classic or two in each book post for a while, because I am the happy new owner of an e-reader, and I'm determined to read only FREE titles on it. I'm lucky that my library offers free downloads of thousands of titles, but there is a bit of a wait for most of them. In between, I'm going to read (or re-read) some books that have slipped into the public domain.

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather: What can I say about Willa Cather? I can't criticize a Willa Cather book. Well, okay, I can. I thought it was a little boring. I prefer My Antonia and Sapphira and the Slave Girl. Didn't I talk about Sapphira on here before? I could have sworn I did, yet I can't find it. Anyway, THAT is a good book.