reviews – Peaceful Reader

Book Morsels

A morsel is a tasty bite of something…teasing you to try more or to say “no thanks” but it gives you an idea of what it’s all about. I have a backlog of books to review and the task is overwhelming what with homework, drama camps, and all the other fun things of summer getting in the way I thought this would be a perfect way to share the last four books I’ve read.

Tasty morsels-all delicious in their own way! They are in order as to how I read them not by my enjoyment level.

A Summer Affair by Elin Hildebrand (2008) 478 pages

I read this one on the beach-my first Elin Hilderbrand and I enjoyed her writing very much. This is a quick read about Claire, a young married woman, trying to keep it altogether on the Island of Nantucket. She has a nice home, a handsome husband and several terrific kids. She is asked to cochair an annual charity event which puts her in constant contact with the wealthy Lock Dixon and they have an heated affair. I liked Claire and her friend and sister-in-law, Siobhan, a caterer with her own marital problems. I enjoyed the back story of Claire’s life before she married Jason, which comes up as her first love, Matthew Westfield, is a huge rock star and has agreed to come back and play the Gala to help Claire out. Claire is an artist-a glass blower-and that was a very intricate part of the story and was interesting to learn about the delicacy of her art. I now have more Hildebrand on my to-read shelf!

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (2008) 447 pages

My dear friend Jess in Little Rock introduced my to Picoult a few years ago and I’ve enjoyed most of her collection. This one is about a mother, June, whose husband dies unexpectantly leaving her alone with their young daughter, Elizabeth. June later marries Kurt, the police officer, who helped her out of the car wreck that killed her husband. And one day 5 years into the future June and Kurt are expecting a second daughter when Shay Bourne arrives to help them out of a construction mess. Picoult’s tales are complex and I’m not going to give you much more but the story is told through alternating voices; June’s, Michael’s, a young priest, Maggie’s, a ACLU lawyer-(my favorite character) and Lucius, a vibrant man with a few regrets. I thought the death penalty issues were well done and the whole mystical idea that Shay Bourne may or may not be Jesus was an interesting concept. This one was predictable though-I could see Kurt’s flaw pretty quickly but not a bad read.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman (2009) 196 pages

I loved this little book and sat right on my comfy sofa and read almost the whole thing in one sitting. Cried quite a lot. Has some similar themes to Before I Fall without all the mean girl stuff. This one has a cast of characters to love: Mia, her rock and roll family and Adam, the to-die-for-boyfriend. Mia plays the cello and loves classical music contrasting with her father who played drums in a hipster band and her boyfriend who plays in an alternative band. It has lots of musical references and I enjoyed Mia’s non-traditional family. This one is really well-written and I could easily read it all over again. Now I need to get my hands on the second one, Where She Went.

Fire by Krisine Cashore (2009) 461 pages

I am pretty darn excited to cross both of Fire and Graceling off my to-read list and I’m liked them both. Fire is about the Seven Kingdoms of which Cashore refers to in Graceling but does not continue Katsa and Poe’s story. That was a bit of shock to me but once I got past it I liked Fire just fine. After all it does say “companion to Graceling” not sequel to Graceling. Fire is a vibrant colored monster in the Dells born from a human mother and a monster (and cruel) father, Cansrel. Both parents have died and Fire lives in a small house on the estate of Lord Brocker and his son, Archer. There are some unrest issues in the kingdom and Fire is asked to come to King City to meet with Nash, the king and Brigan, his brother and commander of the king’s army. I like the world that Cashore has created. This one was very good. Click on the title to read my review of Graceling.

The Smarty Owl has a great full-length review on Fire that is worth reading.

I hope your week has been blissful and full of reading!

February Recap

It was a good reading month for me. I’m off to a better start on all my reading challenges. I had promised to fulfill last year’s 100+ challenge before I started anew and I accomplished that this month. I’m feeling pretty happy about that

1. The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran; old ARC from my favorite deceased bookstore in Little Rock, made the move with me here. I finally read it and need to pass it on. Anyone interested? Good story about trying to settle in, well, Tuscany. Reading from my own shelves project challenge.

2. Sophie the Hero by Lara Berger (elementary fiction)cute story about a young girl trying to find her own special talent. Read it with Groovy Girl.

3. Milo; Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg-best middle grade fiction book I’ve read in a long time, so innovative and personal. Everyone should experience Milo!! Library Project Challenge. Click here for my review.

4. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters-book club read for Feb., spooky but filled me with questions. Waters is an exceptional writer who I plan to read more of. Click here for my review.

5. Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella-bought this at our local used bookstore when Tina suggested I read it. I surprised myself by enjoying the heck out of it. Plan to read more of them. Perfect summer sitting-by-the-pool-read. Last year’s Reading from my own shelves project. Need to review.

6. Clara’s Kitchen by Clara Cannucciari– great Depression-era memoir cookbook. Food and Library Project Challenge. Click here for my post.

7. Come to the Table; The Slow Food Way of Cooking ed. by Katrina Heron-Lovely California farm stories withe recipes. Food and Library Projects Challenge. Click here for my review.

8. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison-I bought this one when it first came up, my mom borrowed it and “lost” it. I rebought it at the used bookstore one day and decided this was the book to read from Reading from my own shelves project for this month. Reading from my own shelves project. Need to review.

P.S. While I was feeling all spunky about reading 8 books this month my reading/blogging/librarian friend, TINA, commented that she had a good reading month with like 16 books!! How does she do it??

I also had a great month of Rodale Plastic-Free thinking. While I am already neurotically earthy this challenge did make me consider packaging more…I couldn’t buy a few favorite items and well, I lived through the month so I guess I don’t need my fancy orange juice, every month. Perhaps it will make it a rare and delicious treat. I did point out to my husband that I at least reuse the plastic orange juice jug time after time.

I do have a large collection of ball jars and Pyrex dishes for food storage. This challenge did make me think creatively outside the box, digging deeper for solutions.

I hope February was filled with innovative solutions, good cooking and lots of reading.

Top Ten-2010

I’ve checked out a few top ten lists around the blogosphere so I thought I needed to add my ten cents worth. I’ve divided them into three categories: Adult Fiction, YA Fiction and elementary fiction as these are the areas I do the most reading. I’ve grouped several series titles together as you’ll notice. For example, I loved Stieg Larsson’s Millenium series but can’t give it three spots on my list. Also they are not in any particular order as to how much I enjoyed them-too difficult to pick an absolute winner. Links added are to my own review of each book.How many of these titles have you read? Tell me your thoughts. Enjoy!

Adult Fiction

1. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson-mystery, never reviewed it because so many others had but I’m a big fan of Lisbeth Salander, a kickin’ heroine from Sweden.

2. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford-Historical Fiction, alternating between 1942 and 1986, Asian-American, Internment Camps during WWII.
3. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusack-Historical Fiction, Nazi Germany, narrated by Death. Brilliant!
4. Serena by Ron Rash-Historical Fiction-North Carolina Mountains, environmental destruction amisdst ruthlessness.
5. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley-1950, England, 11-year-old star heroine, Flavia solves great mystery.
6. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow-interracial story of Rachel’s family, told in alternating chapters, 1980’s.
7. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender-present day quirky family, Rose can taste her mother’s feelings through her cooking.
8. Buying Time by Pamela Samuels Young-Diverse, mystery, loved the layers and interconnecting of many characters.
9. Still Alice by Lisa Genova-Harvard professor with Alzheimer’s disease, amazing in-depth story, had me in tears.
10. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver Historical Fiction-just finishing this but am amazed by the research and layered history of this tale.

YA Fiction

1. Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye-Emigration tale from America to Palestine.
2. The $66 Summer by JohnArmistead- Historical Fiction, Alabama, 1950’s.
3. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier-Fantasy,beautiful fairy tale with shades of the 12 Dancing Princesses.
4. Restoring Harmony by Joelle Anthony-Dystopian world, Canada and U.S., 2031, Anthony creates a unique world of the future.
5. Shiver/Linger by Maggie Stiefvater-Fantasy, werewolves, love story, excellent writing.
6. Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson-Historical Fiction, Revolutionary War and Slavery.
7. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen-Realistic Fiction, smart girl meets beach boy=complicated romance.
8. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen-Realistic Fiction, Owen helps Annabel understand the complicated parts of her life.

9. Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan-September 9, 2001, teens deal with fall-out before, during and after the towers fall. Heavy, timely and funny.

10. Devil on my Heels by Joyce McDonald-Historical Fiction, 1950’s, racial strife in Florida, great rabble rousing.

Elementary/Middle Fiction

1. Yankee Girl by Mary Ann Rodman-Historical fiction, Civil Rights Strife, tear-jerker.
2. Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur-Realistic Fiction involving death of sibling and parent, fantastic writing.
3. Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder-Fantasy, children in Iowa small town discover a magic wall which makes for great adventure over the summer while the rest of us are just out riding our bikes.
4. Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull-Fantasy, amazing world surrounding grandparent’s house.
5. One Crazy Summer by Rita William- Garcia-1968 Historical Fiction, Black Panthers.
6. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead-A Wrinkle in Time mixed with realistic fiction, NYC drama.

7. Clementine; Friend of the Week by Sarah Pennypacker-You can make a mess of things and your friends will stand be there for you.
8. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin-Fable/Asian tales, girl and dragon change their destiny.
9. The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz-Fantasy, night fairy battles elements in human backyard after bat chews her wings.

10. Star in the Forest by Laura Resau-Realistic Fiction, Mexican family deals with deportation, difficulties as daughter takes care of abandoned dog to ease pain.

I hope each and everyone of you had a very Happy New Year! Cheers to 2011.

A Little Sharing

Before I left work today I took a quick glance at my gmail acct. and flipped through several blog related emails and discovered one from an author. Aileen Leijten has two books I adore (The Hugging Hour and Bella and Bean) and I’ve posted about and she left me a message telling me thank you. I typed her a quick note back and then took a gander at her website to see if anything new was coming up. This is the third time I’ve gone to an author’s website only to see my words there, bragging about their books. This time Aileen has my website squared with the words “Peaceful Reader -Hugging Hour Blog Review.” How can you not love it when an author loves what you say about their creations!! I’m beaming over here!
Please take a moment to visit her site and see my name in “lights” and while your there wander around a little, explore her whimsical illustrations and her Etsy Shop. These books deserve spots in your library or your home!!

Have a very peaceful day~

Still to come this week from me:

*review of Little Bee by Chris Cleave
*review of Look Again by Lisa Scottoline
*a giveaway of She’s So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

Stay tuned!!
I’m off to a high school band concert:)