Russell Brooks - Unsavory Delicacies: Three Short Stories of Suspense

21. Unsavory Delicacies: Three Short Stories of Suspense by Russell Brooks (2011)
Length: 23 pages
Genre: Short Story
Started/Finished: 9 April 2011
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Russell for sending me a copy of this book to read.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 9 March 2011
Why do I have it? I enjoy short stories and Russell Brooks is a new author for me.

How far would you go to get revenge on the person who ruined your reputation? In these three short stories by Russell Brooks, a rogue operative, a food critic, and a mob boss each encounter embarrassing and tragic consequences for their actions. I truly enjoyed these stories; they were fast-paced and gripping. I give Unsavory Delicacies an A!


A! - (90-95%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Joanna Trollope - The Best of Friends

20. The Best of Friends by Joanna Trollope (1995)
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 1 April 2011
Finished: 4 April 2011
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 31 March 2011
Why do I have it? I used to like Joanna Trollope as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Gina and Laurence had been childhood friends and were the best of friends as adults. They were never in love with each other, just the best of friends. Now, Gina was married to the worldly Fergus (who had changed his name from Leslie) and Laurence was married to Hilary. Both had children and seemingly idyllic lives.

Then, Fergus told Gina that he wanted a divorce. She was shattered and turned to Laurence for understanding; but what Laurence did for Gina endangered his own happy family. I loved this story. I thought it was very engrossing and I give it an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Mary Kinney Branson and Jack Branson - Murder in Mayberry: Greed, Death and Mayhem in a Small Town

19. Murder in Mayberry: Greed, Death and Mayhem in a Small Town by Mary Kinney Branson and Jack Branson (2008)
Length: 298 pages
Genre: True Crime
Started: 26 March 2011
Finished: 2 April 2011
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 25 March 2011
Why do I have it? I like true crime and have never actually heard of the Ann Branson case.

When town native Ann Branson was found murdered in her basement in Madisonville, Kentucky townspeople were shocked. Crimes like murder just didn't happen in Madisonville. It was unheard of. A retired federal agent, Ann's nephew Jack Branson will not let his aunt's case die; and it is unheard of to Jack that all clues in his aunt's murder start to point to a member of his own family.

I have to say that the plot of this true crime book was a little slow for me and even though the crime was horrible, the writing was somewhat fanciful in parts. I give this story a B+!


B+! - (89-94%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up for March 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 March with 657 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 650 books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from Bookmooch and Paperback Swap; and a Library Book Sale that we went to on the 11th.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Re-reads
- The Little Wax Doll by Norah Lofts

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin
- Godplayer by Robin Cook
- Windswept by Mary Ellen Chase
- The People From the Sea by Velda Johnston
- Emergency! by Stephen B. Seager, M. D.
- Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! :))
- Winter Harvest by Norah Lofts
- The Wingless Bird by Catherine Cookson
- Unsavory Delicacies by Russell Brooks
- The Best of Friends by Joanna Trollope
- Murder in Mayberry: Greed, Death and Mayhem in a Small Town by Mary Kinney Branson and Jack Branson
- The Ambush Murders by Ben Bradlee
- The Zani Murders by Kelly Fero
- Hunting Evil: Inside the Ipswich Serial Murders by Paul Harrison

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- The Third Deadly Sin by Lawrence Sanders
- I'll be Seeing You by Mary Higgins Clark
- The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard
- Be Healed by Marilyn Hickey
- Erica Wilson's Children's World by Janet Wilson
- Kirkland Revels by Victoria Holt

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

Books Read: 7
Pages Read: 2,260
Grade Range: A+! to A!

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

March'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. March's Book of the Month is: 

Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba

Published as: Sink or Swim in December 2010

Publisher: Mainly Murder Press

Birth Name: Stacy Drumtra

Born: in New England

Canonical Name: Stacy Juba

Pseudonyms: Stacy Drumtra-Juba

Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba was the twelfth book that I read in 2011. I have had this book on my virtual TBR bookshelf since February of 2011 and I read it in February of 2011 as well. It took me six days to read this book and I purged the ebook after I finished reading it on March 5, 2011.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

March'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. February's Book of the Month is: 

Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba

Published as: Sink or Swim in December 2010

Publisher: Mainly Murder Press

Birth Name: Stacy Drumtra

Born: New England

Canonical Name: Stacy Juba

Pseudonyms: Stacy Drumtra-Juba

Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba was the twelfth book that I read in 2011. I have had this book on my virtual TBR bookshelf since February of 2011 and I read it in February of 2011 as well. It took me six days to read this book and I purged the ebook after I finished reading it on March 5, 2011.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

John Heilemann and Mark Halperin - Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime

18. Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin (2010)
Length: 464 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started: 24 March 2011
Finished: 28 March 2011
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 11 March 2011
Why do I have it? I'm normally not that interested in politics, but I was really interested in the 2008 election.

This was a book that I've been wanting to read ever since it came out. I must admit that I am not that into American politics, but I was particularly interested in the 2008 election because deep at heart, Mareena and I are enormous news junkies - current events are our lifeblood. We are definitely not political, but I loved the background gossip of the campaigns in this book.

I'm not sure if I'll want to watch the movie when it comes out. I find that the book is immeasurably better than the movie most of the time. I give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight