Preetham Grandhi - A Circle of Souls

12. A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi (2009)
Length: 339 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 14 July 2009
Finished: 18 July 2009
Where did it come from? I commandeered this book to read for myself first when Mareena received an Advanced Reader's Copy to review from Preetham.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 4 July 2009
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and Preetham Grandhi is a new author for me.


I was very interested in this book when my daughter received it to review. I asked if I could borrow it to read it first and she said yes I could. I agree wholeheartedly with her review.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Barbara Delinsky - An Accidental Woman

11. An Accidental Woman by Barbara Delinsky (2002)
Blake Sisters Series Book 2
Length: 544 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 3 July 2009
Finished: 13 July 2009
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 June 2009
Why do I have it? I like Barbara Delinsky as an author and I have several more books by this author on my bookshelf.

Longtime resident of Lake Henry, New Hampshire, Heather Malone has been led away by the FBI, which claims that she fled the scene of a fatal accident in California years before. Poppy Blake, her best friend, is determined to clear her name, while facing past mistakes of her own: she still feels guilt over a snowmobile accident that killed her partner and left her paralyzed. Playing an unlikely role in both women's lives is investigative journalist Griffin Hughes, whose attraction to Poppy keeps him returning to Lake Henry, even as he is the secret reason why the FBI is interested in Heather.

To redeem himself, Griffin sets out to unravel the mystery surrounding Heather and becomes the key to freeing Poppy from her regrets and showing her a rich new future. In my opinion, this is not Barbara Delinsky's best work. There was a lot of discussion of maple syrup making which I didn't understand very well. I give this book a C+!


C+! - (76-79%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Norah Lofts - Out of the Dark

10. Out of the Dark by Norah Lofts (1972)
Length: 255 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 25 June 2009
Finished: 2 July 2009
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap 
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 25 June 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.

Years before, Charlotte Cornwall's little stepbrother was kidnapped and found murdered. According to circumstantial evidence, Charlotte was implicated. And even though she was acquitted, Charlotte Cornwall was notorious.

Now Charlotte had a new name and a new life. She taught at Homelands - a nice school for nice young women. However, suddenly, some of the things that begin to happen around Charlotte aren't nice at all. The old suspicions are returning. And this time Charlotte is not sure that she can escape the consequences. I give this an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up for June 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 June with about 622 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 617 books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from a library book sale we went to on the 1st to celebrate Mareena's birthday, as well as Paperback Swap; I have bought books though the library book sale this month (50 cents for paperbacks, $1.00 for hardcovers. The money goes to help our library's upkeep and stocking some latest releases.) We generally try to go to the library once a month if we can.

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 :))
- A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve
- The Ice House by Nina Bawden
- To See a Fine Lady by Norah Lofts
- The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart
- The Brittle Glass by Norah Lofts 

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- Claudia's Shadow by Charlotte Vale Allen
- My Beloved Son by Catherine Cookson
- Loose Change: Three Women of the Sixties by Sara Davidson
- An Accidental Woman by Barbara Delinsky
- Now You Know by Kitty Dukakis and Jane Scovell
- Family Treason: The Walker Spy Case by Jack Kneece
- While I Was Gone by Sue Miller
- A Paper Life by Tatum O'Neal
- Crescent City by Belva Plain
- The Letters by Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger
- The Case of Lucy Bending by Lawrence Sanders
- The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin
- Horror House by J. N. Williamson
- House Sensation: Spirited and Stylish Home Decoration by Anne McKevitt
- The Doctor's Wife: A True Story of Marriage, Deception and Two Gruesome Deaths by John Glatt
- Home Decorating With Needlecrafts by Linda Lee Lindgren
- Out of the Dark by Norah Lofts

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Duma Key Stephen King
- Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart
- The Godmother: The True Story of the Hunt For the Most Bloodthirsty Female Criminal in Our Time, Griselda Blanco by Richard Smitten
- Encyclopedia of 312 Scroll Saw Designs by John La Forge
- New Selected Poems, 1966-1987 by Seamus Heaney

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, 328
Grade Range: A+! to C+!

So, there you go! The reading month that was June. 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

June'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. June's Book of the Month is: 

A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve

Published as: A Wedding in December: A Novel in October 2005

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Birth Name: Anita Shreve

Born: 1946 in Dedham, Massachusetts

Canonical Name: Anita Shreve

Pseudonyms: None

A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve was the ninth book that I read in 2009. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since June 13, 2009 and it took me four days to read. This book is a definite keeper for me!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anita Shreve - A Wedding in December

9. A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve (2005)
Length: 325 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 20 June 2009
Finished: 24 June 2009
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 13 June 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.

Bridget and Bill were high school sweethearts who rekindle their romance after 25 years. When they meet again, it is under bittersweet circumstances. Bridget has breast cancer and is not expected to live long. Bridget and Bill decide to get married, and seven of their high school friends assemble at a quaint Berkshire inn in Massachusetts to celebrate the wedding.

These seven friends had suffered a profound tragedy at the end of high school, and how they each deal with the aftermath of that tragedy forms the basis of A Wedding in December. I loved this book and I thought it had brilliant writing. I give it an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anita Shreve - A Wedding in December

9. A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve (2005)
Length: 325 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 20 June 2009
Finished: 24 June 2009
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 13 June 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.

Bridget and Bill were high school sweethearts who rekindle their romance after 25 years. When they meet again, it is under bittersweet circumstances. Bridget has breast cancer and is not expected to live long. Bridget and Bill decide to get married, and seven of their high school friends assemble at a quaint Berkshire inn in Massachusetts to celebrate the wedding.

These seven friends had suffered a profound tragedy at the end of high school, and how they each deal with the aftermath of that tragedy forms the basis of A Wedding in December. I loved this book and I thought it had brilliant writing. I give it an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight