Belva Plain - Eden Burning

47. Eden Burning by Belva Plain (1982)
Length: 480 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 31 August 2011
Finished: 5 September 2011
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 4 December 2010
Why do I have it? I love Belva Plain as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

She was a girl as innocent and beautiful as her family's lush Caribbean plantation - until she learned about dark desire and became a woman. Banished from paradise, Teresa Francis was swept into marriage and motherhood in opulent New York - a world away from her beautiful St. Felice island. But eventually, the secrets that refused to stay buried would draw her back again to paradise. A paradise now in the throws of revolution, which forces Teresa to confront her past and watch her future unfold.

I loved this book. I think that Belva Plain is perhaps one of my favorite authors. I particularly enjoyed how the characters interacted together and the writing was wonderful, in my opinion. If I had one dislike of this book, it was that it was slightly too long. I find that I can't really read long books anymore. Overall, though, I give this book an A+!


A+! - (96-100%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up for August 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 August with 649 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 644 books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from Bookmooch and Paperback Swap and a library book sale we went to on the 27th; 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 :))
- The A. B. C. Murders by Agatha Christie
- The King of Lies by John Hart
- Testimony by Anita Shreve
- Preacher's Girl: The Life and Crimes of Blanche Taylor Moore by Jim Schutze
- Storyville by Lois Battle

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- Boneman's Daughters by Ted Dekker
- Almost Sisters by Nancy Anderson, Leal Littke and Carroll Hofeling Morris

- Southern Women by Lois Battle

- The Spanish Bridegroom by Jean Plaidy
- Bright River Trilogy by Annie Greene
- The Return Journey by Maeve Binchy
- Where or When by Anita Shreve

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- The Black House by Paul Theroux
- Godplayer by Robin Cook
- Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept the Secrets by James Spada
- Mutation by Robin Cook
- One True Thing by Anna Quindlen
- The Best of Friends by Joanna Trollope

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: 1,729
Grade Range: A+! to A!

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

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: 

Testimony by Anita Shreve

Published as: Testimony: A Novel in October 2008

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Birth Name: Anita Shreve

Born: 1946 in Dedham, Massachusetts

Canonical Name: Anita Shreve

Pseudonyms: None

Testimony by Anita Shreve was the forty-fourth book that I read in 2011. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since April 25, 2011 although I didn't actually read it until August of 2011. This book took me two days to read and is a definite keeper for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

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: 

Testimony by Anita Shreve

Published as: Testimony: A Novel in October 2008

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Birth Name: Anita Shreve

Born: Dedham, Massachusetts

Canonical Name: Anita Shreve

Pseudonyms: None

Testimony by Anita Shreve was the forty-fourth book that I read in 2011. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since April 25, 2011 although I didn't actually read it until August of 2011. This book took me two days to read and is a definite keeper for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Agatha Christie - The A.B.C. Murders

46. The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie (1936)

The Hercule Poirot Series Book 12
Length: 240 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 29 August 2011
Finished: 30 August 2011
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 27 August 2011
Why do I have it? I love Agatha Christie as an author even though I haven't read that many books by her.

The little Belgian detective exercises his "little grey cells" against a mysterious correspondent who writes to him predicting the murders of several people. Poirot is forewarned when the first two murder victims' names begin with an A and a B, now he must solve the case before the killer strikes again in an attempt to complete the alphabet. I must say that I enjoyed this book very much.  I had first read this years ago but had forgotten who the murderer was and why he actually committed the murders. I give it an A!

A!- (90-95%)



Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Agatha Christie - The A.B.C. Murders

46. The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie (1936)

Hercule Poirot Series Book 12
Length: 240 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 29 August 2011
Finished: 30 August 2011
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 27 August 2011
Why do I have it? I love Agatha Christie as an author even though I haven't read that many books by her.

The little Belgian detective exercises his "little grey cells" against a mysterious correspondent who writes to him predicting the murders of several people. Poirot is forewarned when the first two murder victims' names begin with an A and a B, now he must solve the case before the killer strikes again in an attempt to complete the alphabet. I must say that I enjoyed this book very much.  I had first read this years ago but had forgotten who the murderer was and why he actually committed the murders. I give it an A!

A!- (90-95%)



Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

John Hart - The King of Lies

45. The King of Lies by John Hart (2006)
Length: 432 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 27 August 2011
Finished: 28 August 2011
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 27 August 2011
Why do I have it? I certainly like contemporary mysteries but this is my first John Hart book that I've read.

Jackson Workman Pickens - 'Work' to his friends - is an unambitious lawyer in a small Southern town. He also has some serious baggage. His mother died a year ago in a fall down the family's colonial staircase and his father, Ezra, has been missing ever since.

Work is left to deal with his psychologically damaged sister, his father's legal caseload and his own rocky marriage. Power and greed make many enemies, especially for a man as cruel as Ezra Pickens, so when his body turns up almost everyone in town is considered a suspect - but only one man is charged with the murder! With time, his wife and public opinion against him, Work embarks on his toughest case yet: proving his own innocence. His investigation will uncover a web of intrigue that he couldn't have imagined - and he soon realizes that no one is above suspicion - even those he loves.

I did really enjoy this book, even though, in my opinion, the story could have been wrapped up earlier. I thought it was a good plot with beautiful writing. I give it an A!


A! - (90-95%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight