End of the year!

Another year is getting ready to wrap up.  I had a great reading year and a so so year on updating this blog.  Let's talk about the good reading year first :)
I read 31 books this year!  I think that is the best year I've had in a while.  I posted about a few on this blog but let's talk about some which I haven't written about.
I reread the entire Betsy and Tacy series (well , the teenage through adult volumes.  I skipped the kid ones).  I has been a number of years since reading these.  I love them.  I read them first when i was a kid and for a while I'd revisit yearly.  Slowly that has dropped to every few years.  I bet it has now been 10 since picking them up.  But, it's like putting on your favorite pair of shows.  They feel good and you are so glad you remembered them.  I read all 6 volumes but they only count as 3 on my reading list because the editions i checked out from the library pair them 2 in a volume.  I read the first 4 volumes in 2 weeks.  So wonderful.  Betsy is in high school and you discover her friends, her loves and her passion for writing.  The last 2 volumes are a bit harder for me.  I always struggle with Betsy and the Great World.  None of her friends make an appearance and it is all new characters.  Betsy's wedding is also not my favorite because once again, her friends take a back seat and it is all about Betsy and Joe.  Still, they are fun and quick and I just loved them.
 Regarding the blog....   I have done much better this year but still not consistent.  It's funny because it's not really hard to update but I just get busy with life and forget.  Or i think i want to post something but start over thinking it and can't decide what to write.  I'm not giving up yet.  One more year and if i can't start posting more regularly, I'll drop it.  I have postponed sharing it on my social media because i don't post often enough.  but maybe it's time to share! 

This week is Christmas and I'm in Virginia with my folks.  I have 2 books on my kindle that I'm going to try to knock out before January 1.  that could take my list to 33 which is probably a record for me since i usually hover around 24-30 every year.  Wish me luck and Merry Christmas!

The End of Summer

Summer is over!  It flew by.  But, I was able to sneak in a final week in Hawaii which was lovely!  I sat on the beach 5 hours a day and read, napped and thought about life.
I also read a few books!
I'm going to review the first 2 and save the remaining for the next post.

Since You've Been Gone by Anouska Knight
this is a story of a young widow named Holly who runs a bakery, cake shop.  Her husband has been dead for 2 years but she is still struggling to move on.  She sees him and talks to him daily.  But then Ciaran Argyll walks into her life.  He is completely opposite of her and changes everything.
I enjoyed the story but it was pretty predictable.  I really enjoyed the characters and especially the side characters, her assistant, his father and her sister.  The writing

was good and it was fine for a beach read.  Plus, I love a story that revolves around food!  I'd give this 3.5 stars.

Since you've been gone trailer



The Flower Arrangement by Ella Griffin
Lara owns a flower shop in the middle of Dublin.  She knows exactly what flower each person needs.  We find out early on that Lara has lost a child and is still in mourning.  This story jumps around to a whole bunch of characters.  Sometimes that drives me nuts but I liked this one.  Lara's story and that of her brother are the main ones but all of the others are connected.  I really enjoyed this.  The flowers felt magical and I liked how they were weaved in each story. 
The only bummer was the end.  It is not neatly wrapped up which is what i like.  You are left wondering what will happen and it's over.  But, I'd still give it 4 stars just because of the great characters and the journey they go on.

Next time I'll review the other beach reads! 

Books about Books!

I  love Books about Books!   Anyone who calls themselves a reader, loves to read about other readers.  I've read a bunch of them recently.   Here are the most recent;

Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpren.  I really liked this one.  It started out a bit slow for me but by half way, i really wanted to know what would happen.  It jumps back and forth a bit from a woman's,  Kit, relationship and eventual marriage to present day.  We know in present day she is alone but not sure what happened.   Meanwhile a young girl , Sunny, is caught stealing a dictionary and her punishment is to spend the summer working in the library.   Kit is the librarian and they form an unexpected friendship.  Eventually they are joined by Rusty who is suddenly a regular hanging out daily in the library.  The book isn't  really about books as much as it is about the library and how it brings people together and is in someways the heart of the community.   I thought the characters were well thought out and interesting.    Kit was so damaged and needed help and these new friends were critical to her getting better.  .  I gave it 4 stars.

.Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks: A Librarian's Love Letters and Breakup Notes to the Books in Her life by Anne Spence   .   I love an epistolary book but this one didn't really do it for me.  It is individual letters to the books or authors of different books.  While some of the letter were funny and i enjoyed the one's related to books i had read, some didn't do it for me.  Not many of the letters made me want to run out a read a book she wrote about with the exception of the Virgin Suicides.  I put that one on my TBR list.  I kept putting this book down.  i would read a few letters and then read another book.  Then pick it up and read a few more.  She does have a real love for books and for that, I gave it 3 stars.

Until next time, happy reading! 

June Riot Gram - day 2 Library Love

Book Riot has posted the June Riot Gram .  June 2nd is Library love!   My favorite library is the NY Public library.  i mean...   who doesn't love that place! Last time i was there was 5 years ago and it just always takes my breath away.   I swear if i lived in NY, i'd go there all the time just to sit.  Recently when we went to Boston, we stopped in the Boston Public Library.  I was super impressed because it was also beautiful,   Not only the library part but also the beautiful art work displayed and the murals  on the walls.   3 years ago my niece and nephew were visiting and we went to University of Washington's campus for a tour.  The library there reminded me of Harry Potter.    Finally we have the little neighborhood lending library.  This is approximately 2 blocks from my house and I love leaving books there for some lucky soul to discover.  It is a great way for me to purge my bookshelves

Boston Public Library

Boston Public Library

NY Public Library

University of Washington Library

University of Washington or Hogwarts 

Jane Austen Inspired books

There is something about books inspired by Jane Austen.  I just can't stop reading them.  I guess it's that hopeless romantic side of me that knows the strong woman will always find the man who is just as strong at the end.
In the past year I've read several Austen inspired books.  Last year I reviewed 2- Lizzy & Jane and Dear Mr. Knightley, both by Katherine Reay.   Today, we'll take a look at two new ones;

The Jane Austen Project 

 This is not the typical kind of book that I read.   2 researchers travel back in time to find a suspected unpublished novel of Jane Austen.   Usually time travel makes me crazy but i enjoyed this.  They must pretend to be brother and sister and not disturb anything in the past that might have an impact in the future.  Of course that can't happen. You know from the beginning that something isn't going to go right.   I really enjoyed the fictional Jane and the time traveler Rachel.   I thought her struggles to control her independence and her growing relationship with Liam (who is posing as her brother) was well thought out.  Overall the book kept me turning the pages to see what would happen.  I really wanted to know what would happen when they returned or if they would return.  Usually these books are a retelling of a Jane story but this one was a retelling of her life.  4 stars!    It appeals to the fantasy/sci fi fans of time travel and the Austen fans. 

By the Book  -    This one is a retelling of Persuasion.  I have to admit that I've never read Persuasion but have seen 2 different movie versions of it.   This one is fun and a bit mindless but perfect when you want something that doesn't hurt your brain and you can just enjoy.   Anne Corey is a professor trying to get tenure and struggling to stay afloat.  Her ex-fiance shows up as the new college president .  He has obviously done well for himself in spite of what was predicted meanwhile she is barely hanging on.  Of course there is a handsome writer who shows up and courts Anne.  I knew that in true Jane fashion, he would be a two timing no good rascal and that is exactly what happens.   Very predictable if you know anything about the story but fun. I read this on the bus to and from work.  The characters (especially her best friend) were fun.  This is probably a bit more of a 3.5 star rating but i rounded up to 4.  I would call this a good beach read.

Magic!

March was a good book month!   I finished a Gentleman in Moscow (see below) and I also read Rules of Magic.   Both were so good.  I had read Practical Magic years and years ago and honestly I barely remember it.  But, I love Alice Hoffman so I couldn't wait to pick this up.  This is the prequel to Practical Magic and we meet the Owen children  when they are kids and follow their lives starting in the late 50's/ early 60's and taking us on the journey to adulthood.  It is about love, losing love, finding love and figuring out who you are.  It is about accepting yourself and it is about family Yes, there is magic but there is so much more.   The 3 Owen siblings believe they must avoid love due to a family curse.  But they can't stop it because love finds each of them.   There were a few surprises in the book, especially with Vincent and there was heartbreak.  I just love how Alice Hoffman writes!  When her books come out I almost want to save them because I know I will read it so quickly and want more.   

Beautiful Salem 

It just so happened that I took a trip to Salem in March to visit friends.  Sandy, Kimberly and I boarded a flight on a Thursday to Boston.  We spent the night in Boston and then head to Salem for the weekend.  Totally fun!  Love this little town.  The shops are cute, restaurants yummy and just a fun get away!  It was great  to read a book set in this part of the country while I was in that part of the country.   The town is full of magic and the weekend was pretty magical.   
I was thinking about my favorite Alice Hoffman books.  It is so hard to try to rate them.   Museum of Extraordinary Things stayed with me for a long time.  Dovekeepers was so rich and full of history, passion, and strength.  Faithful was emotional and gut wrenching but in the end sweet.  I just a huge fan!    Next I might need to re-read Practical Magic. 

Posing in front of the Elizabeth Montgomery Statue.  Bewitched! 

Mother Goose Grave 

Boston Commons 

A Gentleman in Moscow

I started reading this book back in October.  It was recommended by a friend on Facebook.   This review is mixed.  Overall, i really enjoyed this novel.  The writing is lovely, the main character is super interesting and the side characters also people you want to know.   But...   I had a hard time getting through it.  I didn't move fast.   Let's look at what happens...   a man, an  aristocrat,  is sentenced to house arrest for a poem he wrote in 1922.  He will spend the rest of his life at the Metropol grand hotel.  The next 30 years cover his life in the hotel and the people he meets there.   I really liked it but i would put it down for weeks at a time and then pick it up and read another 50-60 pages.  I read at least 5 books during the time I read this book.  Finally 6 months in, I finished.  I still gave it 4 stars.  The missing star is only because it should have moved faster.


http://www.amortowles.com/

https://vimeo.com/183310610

the links above are to his website and a great video about the book.

I would still recommend this book to folks but tell them to enjoy the language, the character, the setting but know that is moves slowly.

On the really positive side, this book has a ton of food references.  He ends up working in the hotel restaurant , the place he always enjoyed the best dinners.   Lots and lots of food and drink references.  I googled "Food from A Gentleman in Moscow" and found this cool book page

http://bookclubcookbook.com/gentleman-moscow-latvian-stew-recipe-author-amor-towles/


Tonight I plan to make some food inspired by the book.  The author has published a recipe for Latvian Stew .  It sound delicious but I'm trying to cut back on all meat and the main ingredient is Pork Shoulder.   Instead I'm going to do something that is a bit Irish (it is St Patricks Day) and Russian.   Stay tuned.

Book Riot Bookstagram Challenge!   

I've been reading 3 books at a time which isn't my usual style. 
I started A Gentleman in Moscow months ago and for some reason I've had trouble finishing it.  i pick it up every
 couple of weeks and read a bit.  I really like it but just haven't finished it.  Also reading rereading the Alienist.  Just found out there is a TV show and i wanted to read the book again before watching it.   Finally , just started The Name of the Star (shades of London #1).  

the challenge! 














Challenge #2 - my current read.  It was my current read but now I've finished it.   I gave it 3  stars but it was probably more like 3.5 stars.  Good story but so sad.  I felt like the darkness in the asylum was a bit too much.  Almost too much for me to read.  I would still recommend it but not if you are already feeling a bit sad.  it might just tip you over the edge! 

Challenge #10- a Book and a Beverage.  This was a Saturday morning and i was finishing up the Bookshop on the Corner.  SOOOOO good.  I love a book about books.  this was everything i like in a story.  Books, a love story, a great setting, fun people, reinventing your life!  I gave it  5 stars.  This is one i'll reread. 

I have a few more coming up this month!