Monday, August 31, 2009

August's Book of the Month

Hello Everyone! I chose the picture posted above because it reminds me of reading to my daughter Mareena when she was little. Every afternoon until she was about eight or nine years old, we would take one of her books that she wanted to read or that she was reading and we would curl up together on my big bed. 

We would spend an hour or so reading a chapter of her book, and then take a nap together. Her absolutely favorite author at that time was an English author named Enid Blyton. Ahh, nice memories...

My picks for 'Books of the Month' will be decidedly more adult these days, but they will be from almost any genre. August's Book of the Month is: 


The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
Published as: The Weight of Water in January 1997
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company



Birth Name: Anita Shreve
Born: 1946 in Dedham, Massachusetts

Canonical Name: Anita Shreve
Pseudonyms: None

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve was the sixteenth book that I read in 2009. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since August 1, 2009 and it took me a day to read. This book is a definite keeper for me!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Friday, August 28, 2009

Tanya Tucker and Patsy Bale Cox - Nickel Dreams: My Life

18. Nickel Dreams: My Life by Tanya Tucker and Patsy Bale Cox (1997)
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started: 18 August 2009
Finished: 28 August 2009
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 August 2009
Why do I have it? I like autobiographies and didn't know all that much about Tanya Tucker's life.

I just finished reading Nickel Dreams: My Life by Tanya Tucker. Since the age of eleven, Tanya Tucker has been a successful country singer who has lived a hard life. This is her autobiography. I personally can't say much for this book since I had never heard of many of the record people she mentioned. I give it an F!

F! - (00-65%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Norah Lofts - Crown of Aloes

17. Crown of Aloes by Norah Lofts (1974)
Length: 303 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 7 August 2009
Finished: 15 August 2009
Where did it come from? Borrowed from the library
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 August 2009
Why do I have it? I like Norah Lofts as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.


This is a novel of Queen Isabella of Spain. It is based on fact and detail, presented as a personal chronicle of her life. Isabella's fortunes were varied: she knew poverty and faced much anxiety and danger. I loved this story - it was very touching at the end. I give this story an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Anita Shreve - The Weight of Water

16. The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve (1997)
Length: 288 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 5 August 2009
Finished: 6 August 2009
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 August 2009
Why do I have it? I like Anita Shreve as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.


In 1873, on the lonely, windswept islands of Isles of Shoals - a group of islands off the coast of New Hampshire - two women were brutally murdered. A third woman was found cowering in a sea cave at daybreak. More than a century later, Jean, a photographer working on a photoessay of the murders has arrived with her entire family - her husband, Thomas, and five-year-old daughter, Billie - on a boat skippered by her brother-in-law, Rich, and Rich's girlfriend Adaline. As Jean is immersed in the 19th-century murders while working on the photoessay, Thomas and Adaline find themselves drawn together - with potentially ruinous consequences. I thought this was a brilliant book, riveting storylines. I give it an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Barbara Delinsky - The Woman Next Door

15. The Woman Next Door by Barbara Delinsky (2001)
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 1 August 2009
Finished: 4 August 2009
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 August 2009
Why do I have it? I like Barbara Delinsky as an author and I have several books by this author on my bookshelf.

In Barbara Delinsky's The Woman Next Door, three women who live next door to a lovely, pregnant and reclusive widow have their lives turned upside down by their husbands' interest in her. These three wives are friends, but each can't help but wonder if her husband is the father of the baby. As a result, each woman reevaluates her life and finds out what's truly important to herself.

Amanda and Graham O'Leary have an ostensibly happy life, but infertility treatments have put a strain on their marriage. Russ Lange is a house husband while his wife travels the country to promote her juice company. Karen Cottar has dealt with her husband's infedelity before. When a crisis happens at the high school, it adds to each household's tension. I liked this story very much; the type of book women like to read. I give it an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Reading Wrap-up for July at Moonshine and Rosefire

 

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Rosefire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog. I originally posted my reviews over at my daughter's blog, Emeraldfire's Bookmark but am now in the process of transferring them all over to my own blog. My daughter makes blogging look like so much fun that I thought that I would try it out for myself! :)

Anyway, I started out July with 634 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 629 books unread. I didn't acquire any more books this month.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile 


Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin
- A Paper Life by Tatum O'Neal
- A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi
- An Accidental Woman by Barbara Delinsky
- Out of the Dark by Norah Lofts

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
Medieval Castles of Ireland by David Sweetman
- Your Naturally Healthy Home: Stylish, Safe, Simple by Alan Berman
The Painter's Composition Handbook by Jan Herring
- Billy Straight by Jonathan Kellerman

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 5
Pages Read: 1,730
Grade Range: A+! to C+!

So, there you go! The reading month that was July. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight