Book Review: Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden

Friday 30 April, 2010 By 5 Comments

Title: Glorious
Author: Bernice L. McFadden
Publisher: Akashic Books
Publication Date: May 1, 2010
Hardcover: 240 pages
ISBN: 978-1936070114
Genre: Historical Fiction

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From the Publisher:

Glorious is set against the backdrops of the Jim Crow South, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights era. Blending fact and fiction, Glorious is the story of Easter Venetta Bartlett, a fictional Harlem Renaissance writer whose tumultuous path to success, ruin, and ultimately revival offers a candid and true portrait of the American experience in all its beauty and cruelty.

It is a novel informed by the question that is the title of Langston Hughes’s famous poem: What happens to a dream deferred? Based on years of research, this heart-wrenching fictional account is given added resonance by factual events coupled with real and imagined larger-than-life characters. Glorious is an audacious exploration into the nature of self-hatred, love, possession, ego, betrayal, and, finally, redemption.

My Review:

Spanning the years from 1910 to 1961, Bernice L. McFadden takes the reader back to a time many want to forget, yet should not be forgotten in her novel Glorious. The reader is introduced to Easter Bartlett a young woman born in Waycross, Georgia, who takes the reader through the atrocities of rape, lynching, and murder to a traveling Vaudeville act, Slocum’s Traveling Brigade, to the birth of the Harlem Renaissance. Glorious is a beautifully crafted narrative of historical moments, heart-breaking facts, joys and betrayals as told through the eyes of Easter Bartlett a loving, kind woman who happened to also be a voracious reader and writer in a time when those who where not white were typically not literate. Glorious is a novel that takes the reader through five decades and numerous states filled with beautiful prose, dialect, and description, the characters spring to life off the pages and one cannot help but to share in the sorrowful moments as well as the joyful ones. Bernice L. McFadden, through her graceful and resilient character, Easter Bartlett, brings history to life and makes the reader feel as though they are there beside Easter. Glorious is a novel that should be read, pondered, read again and discussed, and a novel I wholeheartedly recommend to all readers.

About the Author:

Bernice L. McFadden is the author of six critically acclaimed novels including the classic Sugar and Nowhere Is a Place, which was a Washington Post Best Fiction title for 2006. She is a two time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist for fiction, as well as the recipient of two fiction honor awards from the BCALA. Her sophomore novel, The Warmest December, was praised by Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison as “searing and expertly imagined.” McFadden lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she is working on her next novel.

I received a complimentary copy of Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden from Bernice L. McFadden to read and offer my honest review of the novel. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Review: Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden

Friday 30 April, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Title: Dead End Gene Pool
Author: Wendy Burden
Publisher: Gotham
Publication Date: April 1, 2010
Hardcover: 288 pages
ISBN: 978-1592405268
Genre: Memoir

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About the novel:

In the tradition of Sean Wilsey’s Oh The Glory of It All and Augusten Burrough’s Running With Scissors, the great-great-great-great granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt gives readers a grand tour of the world of wealth and WASPish peculiarity, in her irreverent and darkly humorous memoir.

For generations the Burdens were one of the wealthiest families in New York, thanks to the inherited fortune of Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt. By 1955, the year of Wendy’s birth, the Burden’s had become a clan of overfunded, quirky and brainy, steadfastly chauvinistic, and ultimately doomed bluebloods on the verge of financial and moral decline-and were rarely seen not holding a drink. In Dead End Gene Pool, Wendy invites readers to meet her tragically flawed family, including an uncle with a fondness for Hitler, a grandfather who believes you can never have enough household staff, and a remarkably flatulent grandmother.

At the heart of the story is Wendy’s glamorous and aloof mother who, after her husband’s suicide, travels the world in search of the perfect sea and ski tan, leaving her three children in the care of a chain- smoking Scottish nanny, Fifth Avenue grandparents, and an assorted cast of long-suffering household servants (who Wendy and her brothers love to terrorize). Rife with humor, heartbreak, family intrigue, and booze, Dead End Gene Pool offers a glimpse into the fascinating world of old money and gives truth to an old maxim: The rich are different.

My Review:

Dysfunctional families are not uncommon and while the stories usually will bear some similarities very few are told of the wealthiest of families, at least not before Wendy Burden’s memoir Dead End Gene Pool. Burden’s great-great-great-great grandfather was none other than Cornelius Vanderbilt and his eccentricities and proclivities apparently lived on throughout the generations. Wendy’s father, William Armistead Moale Burden III died when she was 6 years old, changing her world, but not in the ordinary way a parent’s death might change a child. Rather Wendy and her brothers traveled quite often to stay with their grandparents as dictated by their attorneys after their son’s death. From the beginning it is clear to see that Wendy is starved for attention and goes to great lengths to achieve recognition, including but not limited to decapitating dolls and dissecting dolls. Her older brother was given weekly therapy sessions when their father passed, however, she was not, for which she was quite envious and I do think in desperate need of. Burden paints a life without parents, however her mother was not dead but instead, off traveling the world and the children often stayed with their grandmother, who apparently was prone to flatulence as it is mentioned quite often along with grandfather, a man who valued having numerous servants, land, and boys. While the Burden children grew up surrounded by servants as well as a governess, extravagant gifts, and extremely eccentric family members, many of which were alcoholics, and siblings, something was lacking in Wendy’s life. It is a rare occurrence for me to come across a memoir I am not completely absorbed into, yet I did have difficulties feeling anything for the characters in this memoir, which to me is quite telling of Wendy’s childhood. While Burden uses witty comments to keep her memoir light, it is a rather sad commentary that people with the means for help could not offer help to the ones needing it the most. Dead End Gene Pool left me feeling empty and depressed, which is quite possibly how Wendy often found herself. The memoir itself is well written yet even with a lighter tone and the added wit the reader must be cautioned the tale is not always a happy one, yet one well worth reading, especially for those who enjoy history and memoirs.

About the Author:

Wendy Burden is a confirmed New Yorker who, to her constant surprise, lives in Portland, Oregon. She is the great-great-great-great granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, which qualifies her to comment freely on the downward spiral of the blue blood families. She has worked as an illustrator, a zookeeper, and a taxidermist; and as an art director for a pornographic magazine from which she was fired for being too tasteful. She was also the owner and chef of a small French restaurant, Chez Wendy. She has yet to attend mortuary school, but is planning on it. For more information, please visit her website.

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I received a complimentary copy of Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the novel. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Tour & Review: My Sister’s Voice by Mary Carter

Thursday 29 April, 2010 By 2 Comments

Title: My Sister’s Voice
Author: Mary Carter
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: May 25, 2010
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 978-0758229205
Genre: Fiction

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About the Book:

What do you do when you discover your whole life was a lie? In Mary Carter’s unforgettable new novel, one woman is about to find out. . .

At twenty-eight, Lacey Gears is exactly where she wants to be. An up-and-coming, proudly Deaf artist in Philadelphia, she’s in a relationship with a wonderful man and rarely thinks about her difficult childhood in a home for disabled orphans. That is, until Lacey receives a letter that begins, “You have a sister. A twin to be exact…”

Learning her identical, hearing twin, Monica, experienced the normal childhood she was denied resurrects all of Lacey’s grief, and she angrily sets out to find Monica and her biological parents. But the truth about Monica’s life, their brief shared past, and the reason for the twins’ separation is far from simple. And for every one of Lacey’s questions that’s answered, others are raised, more baffling and profound.

Complex, moving, and beautifully told, My Sister’s Voice is a novel about sisterhood, love of every shape, and the stories we cling to until real life comes crashing in…

My Review:

The search for identity, truth, and beauty are key elements found in My Sister’s Voice by Mary Carter. Identical twin girls reared apart; one profoundly deaf, the other hearing, yet neither aware of the other’s existence until they were 28 years old when Lacey Gears receives an anonymous note telling her she has an identical sister, Monica Bowman. While the story and characters were a bit difficult to warm up to in the beginning, the second half of the book and the messages contained within the novel are well worth the wait. Mary Carter’s novel clearly and eloquently describes in vivid detail what it is like growing up profoundly deaf. I learned so much about the Deaf community that I would not have known had I not read this book and we learn through the character of Lacey how the hearing and Deaf communities differ and how proud she is to be deaf. My Sister’s Voice is a look at how destructive family secrets can be, and the importance of one knowing one’s true identity, living truthfully and filling one’s life with beauty. My Sister’s Voice is a story that will capture the attention of the reader as well as the reader’s heart. My Sister’s Voice offers up a variety of intriguing topics to contemplate and digest, making the novel quite captivating and enlightening.

About the Author:

MARY CARTER is a freelance writer and novelist. My Sister’s Voice is her fourth novel with Kensington. Her other works include: She’ll Take It, Accidentally Engaged, Sunnyside Blues, and The Honeymoon House in the best selling anthology Almost Home. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, which is part of the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has just completed A Very Maui Christmas, a new novella for Kensington that will be included in a Christmas of 2010 anthology. She is currently working on a new novel, The Pub Across the Pond, about an American woman who swears off all Irish men only to learn she’s won a pub in Ireland. Readers are welcome to visit her at her website.

Mary Carter’s MY SISTER’S VOICE VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘10 will officially began on April 5 and will end on May 28 2010. You can visit Mary’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of April and May to find out more about this great book and talented author!

I received a complimentary copy of My Sister’s Voice by Mary Carter from Pump Up Your Book Promotion as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Brushing Up on Math is Easy as Pi by Jamie Buchan

Wednesday 28 April, 2010 By 1 Comment

Brushing Up on Math is Easy as Pi
By Jamie Buchan,
Author of Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day

“World War II? I don’t know much about it. You’ve lost me. I’m sorry, I was always terrible at history. I just don’t have the brain for it!”

Few people would willingly admit to this level of ignorance about key events that shaped the world. But when it comes to math — which shapes not only the world but the entire universe — many otherwise highly intelligent and educated people will happily proclaim ignorance. In many cases, there’s the implication that math is boring and difficult — the exclusive domain of the severely geeky.

This may seem merely frustrating for mathematicians and scientists in social settings, but it has serious and wide-ranging consequences. On an everyday level, a lack of confidence about math makes it hard to split a bill, work on a spreadsheet, or help a child with homework (and this can easily become a vicious circle, since anxiety about math can be passed on to the next generation).

If you feel like you’re math averse, be not afraid: the book Easy as Pi can help. Math itself is based on a limited number of very logical rules and, whether we like it or not, it surrounds us in everything we do. As Pythagoras (the guy behind the famous Theorem) remarked: “Number is the ruler of forms and ideas, and the cause of gods and demons.” The head of a sunflower has evolved with mathematical precision into a double-spiral pattern that packs the most seeds into the smallest available space. The computer on which you’re reading this, and every electronic device — from cheap digital watches counting seconds and minutes to NASA’s Columbia supercomputer, which simulates the collisions of entire galaxies — is powered by a vastly complex system of ones and zeros, which only works at all because they can be interpreted mathematically.

Just like our explorations of science, humanity’s understanding of math has advanced amazingly since we were counting how many mammoth hides it takes to wallpaper a cave. The concept of zero — a number representing nothing — is taken for granted today (apart from anything else, how could all that electronics work otherwise?). However, for centuries it was a thorny philosophical and mathematical question. Roman numerals stopped being used in Europe when medieval Italians learned the zero from the Arabs, who in turn had picked it up from India. The ancient Greeks gave us much of our understanding of geometry, and the Romans put it into practice with structural engineering. We’ve come a long way. The Pirahã tribe, a few hundred people living in a remote area of Brazil, reminds us just how far — with almost no contact with outside cultures, their math is limited to counting “one, two, many.”

Numbers have also slipped into our language and culture in various ways — the third degree, the fourth estate, and fifth columnists spring to mind. And have you ever been asked to “deep six” something? Intelligence agencies use “numbers stations” — radio stations broadcasting strings of numbers — to communicate in code with spies in other countries. And they’ve gained a cult following of fascinated civilian listeners. The controversial conviction of the Cuban Five came after FBI agents found a decryption program for a Cuban numbers station on their computers.

The influence of numbers in our everyday life also seeps into our superstitions. The number 666 — still feared by many people as the “number of the beast” — is believed to be based on gematria, a form of numerically encoding Hebrew words, which is also at the root of claims about a “Bible code.” Math anxiety and ignorance allows people who practice numerology and astrology to make a lot of money by claiming to imbue numbers with a spiritual and cosmic significance. Not only is this completely unproven, it masks the far greater beauty of a mathematically ordered universe.

To sum it all up, math and numbers are everywhere, and they are embedded in our lives in every respect. Anxiety about them is really worth trying to overcome. The benefits they bring us are countless.

© 2010 Jamie Buchan, author of Easy as Pi: The Countless Ways We Use Numbers Every Day

Author Bio:

Jamie Buchan was educated at Westminster School and is completing a Master of Arts degree in Architectural Studies at the University of Edinburgh. Many of his family members are involved in books: his great-grandfather John Buchan is the prolific novelist famous for The Thirty-Nine Steps; his grandfather D.J. Enright is a well-known Movement poet; and his uncle James Buchan is an award-winning novelist and historical writer. Both of his parents work in publishing.

My gratitude to FSB Associates for providing me and my readers with this wonderful piece written by Jamie Buchan.

My review of Easy As Pi, shall be posted soon.

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Book Tour & Review: The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells

Wednesday 28 April, 2010 By 5 Comments

Title: The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder
Author: Rebecca Wells
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Publication Date: April 13, 2010
Paperback: 416 pages
ISBN: 978-0060930622
Genre: Fiction

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About the novel:

In the small river town of La Luna, Louisiana, Calla Lily Ponder bursts into being, a force of nature as luminous as the flower she is named for. Under the loving light of the Moon Lady, the feminine force that will guide and protect her throughout her life, Calla enjoys a blissful childhood – until it is tragically cut short. From her mother, Calla learns compassion and healing through the humble womanly art of “fixing hair.” On the banks of the La Luna River, she discovers a sweet, succulent first love that is as enticing as the music, food, and dancing of her Louisiana home. When heartbreak hits, Calla leaves the familiarity of her hometown and heads downriver to the untamed city of New Orleans, where her destiny further unfolds.

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder is the story of a pink-collar heroine whose willingness to remain vulnerable in the face of adversity opens our hearts to the possibility of love growing from sorrow.

My Review:

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells is a beautiful tale of love and its many forms. The novel, narrated by Calla Lily Ponder, begins in La Luna, Louisiana and the reader learns about various adventures and life-changing events that transpire through Calla Lily’s childhood and adolescence. After high school she moves to New Orleans and another chapter of her life begins. Calla Lily takes the reader through over two decades of her life, during the most profound moments and those that take her breath away, and always with the two constants, La Luna and M’Dear. Wells weaves together an almost lyrical tale of a young girl named after a flower, brought up by open and loving parents, who chose to follow her own path. “The Rules of Life According to M’Dear” were not only my favourite part of the novel, but also profoundly brilliant in the sheer simplicity of them. With the exception of M’Dear and Calla Lily, I did not truly feel as though I knew the characters. While referred to often, there was a certain lack of depth to the characters, as though the events themselves were the focal point and considering the powerful messages carried throughout The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder, I do believe the events are indeed the focal point. Each section Calla Lily shares with the reader holds a life lesson, culminating into a series of lessons one must learn and never forget, much like M’Dear’s “Rules of Life”. I would not hesitate to recommend this novel, especially to discussion groups.

About the Author:

Writer, actor, and playwright Rebecca Wells is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Ya-Yas in Bloom, Little Altars Everywhere, and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which was made into a feature film. A native of Louisiana, she now lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest. You can read more about her and her books at her website. Become a fan of Rebecca Wells on Facebook and keep up with news, events, and more! Follow Rebecca Wells on Twitter.

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I received a complimentary copy of The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the novel. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Tour & Review: Get Lucky by Katherine Center

Tuesday 27 April, 2010 By 3 Comments

Title: Get Lucky
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: April 6, 2010
Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN: 978-0345507914
Genre: Fiction

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About the novel:

Sarah Harper isn’t sure if the stupid decisions she sometimes makes are good choices in disguise—or if they’re really just stupid. But either way, after forwarding an inappropriate email to her entire company, she suddenly finds herself out of a job.

So she goes home to Houston—and her sister, Mackie—for Thanksgiving. But before Sarah can share her troubles with her sister, she learns that Mackie has some woes of her own: After years of trying, Mackie’s given up on having a baby—and plans to sell on eBay the entire nursery she’s set up. Which gives Sarah a brilliant idea—an idea that could fix everyone’s problems. An idea that gives Sarah the chance to take care of her big sister for once—instead of the other way around.

But nothing worthwhile is ever easy. After a decade away, Sarah is forced to confront one ghost from her past after another: the father she’s lost touch with, the memories of her mother, the sweet guy she dumped horribly in high school. Soon everything that matters is on the line—and Sarah can only hope that by changing her life she has changed her luck, too.

My Review:

Get Lucky by Katherine Center is a delightfully charming, witty, and down-to-earth look at the lives of two sisters, Sarah and Mackie, and the life altering events that shape who they are. The story is told to the reader by Sarah beginning with how she managed to get herself fired and then ends up staying in Houston with her sister and brother-in-law, Clive, much longer than she ever expected. Center’s characters are witty, strong, and quite likeable, especially Sarah, Mackie, and Dixie, making Get Lucky a smart feel-good novel that also happens to be introspective, deep, and philosophical. One cannot help be drawn into the lives of these remarkable women. Get Lucky is not only a feel-good novel, but a novel that makes one take stock in what is most important in life. Get Lucky is a great book for anyone looking for strong sister bonds, strong women, and epiphanies. It is my belief that Get Lucky would make an excellent choice for book discussion groups.

About the Author:

Katherine Center is the author of two novels about love and family —The Bright Side of Disaster and Everyone is Beautiful— and has two more on the way. Her books and essays have appeared in Redbook, People, USA Today, Vanity Fair, Real Simple, the Dallas Morning News, and the Houston Chronicle, as well as the anthology Because I Love Her. Varsity Pictures optioned Katherine’s first novel last fall, and Library Journaljust called her new novel, Get Lucky, “another thoroughly enjoyable girlish romp.” Katherine lives in Houston with her husband and two young children.
Visit the author’s website and follow her on Twitter.

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I received a complimentary copy of Get Lucky by Katherine Center from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the novel. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Teaser Tuesdays- Get Lucky

Tuesday 27 April, 2010 By 27 Comments


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here is mine:

“I scanned the site until the images and words bouncing in my brain became a cacophony of women’s dissatisfaction and despair, building louder and louder to a crescendo that I could not shush. That is, until four A.M., when I clicked forward on my sister’s email, selected the company-wide distribution list, and hit send.”

~Page 7 , Get Lucky by Katherine Center (ARC copy. Final page numbers may differ slightly.)
My Review.

What are you reading?

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Book Review: Sounds Like Crazy by Shana Mahaffey

Monday 26 April, 2010 By 7 Comments

Title: Sounds Like Crazy
Author: Shana Mahaffey
Publisher: NAL Trade
Publication Date: October 6, 2009
Paperback: 400 pages
ISBN: 978-0451227911
Genre: Fiction

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From the Publisher:

Though she doesn’t remember the trauma that caused it, Holly Miller has Dissociative Identity Disorder. Her personality has fractured into five different identities, together known as The Committee. And as much as they make Holly’s life hell, she can’t live without them.

Then one of those identities, the flirtatious, southern Betty Jane, lands Holly a voiceover job. Betty Jane wants nothing more than to be in the spotlight. The rest of The Committee wants Betty Jane to shut up. Holly’s therapist wants to get to the bottom of her broken psyche. And Holly? She’s just along for the ride…

My Review:

Sounds Like Crazy is one the best novels I have read this year and also one of the most difficult to review without giving away the beauty that lies within the covers. In the novel Sounds Like Crazy, author Shana Mahaffey weaves together an intricately beautiful, heartbreaking, and redemptive tale of 30-year-old Holly Miller who has a committee of five living in her head. Holly is struggling to keep her past repressed and maintain a life in New York with the assistance of her sister Sarah, Dr. Milton Lawler, and the committee: Boy, Silent One, Sarge, Ruffles, and Betty Jean. Sounds Like Crazy is a phenomenal novel; it is one that, once begun, cannot be put down. I longed to have someone to discuss this novel with, and now struggle to write a review showcasing the marvels of this novel without giving any of the storyline away. Sounds Like Crazy is beautifully written, with delightfully charming, eccentric, and quite realistic characters, not all are likeable yet even in the direst times, Holly’s wit shines through. Mahaffey did a superb job in writing a convincing novel about a woman who spent the majority of her life with Dissociative Identity Disorder and a brilliant job at showing the reader what the mind can do to protect itself. My words cannot do justice to the true beauty locked inside Sounds Like Crazy, rather it is a novel one must personally experience and if possible discuss with others. To aid the reader, the author includes a discussion guide at the end of her novel. Sounds Like Crazy is a novel I do not hesitate to recommend to all readers.

About the Author:

Mahaffey lives in San Francisco, California, in part of an Edwardian compound that she shares with an informal cooperative of family, friends, and five cats. She’s a survivor of catechism and cat scratch fever, and is a member of the Sanchez Grotto Annex, a writers’ co-op. Her novel, Sounds Like Crazy was named a notable book for Fall 2009 by the San Francisco Chronicle; and her work has appeared in publications such as Sunset Magazine, SoMa Literary Review, Spectrum Literary Journal, Reflections Literary Journal, and assorted literary blogs. In addition to writing fiction, Shana has contributed articles, white papers, and product reviews to various technology publications. She welcomes all visitors to her website and is happy to meet with book groups in-person or in cyberspace (phone/webcam/the works). Her cat blogs for her at www.shanamahaffey.com.

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I received a complimentary copy of Sounds Like Crazy by Shana Mahaffey to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the novel. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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It’s Monday What Are You Reading? 26 April

Monday 26 April, 2010 By 25 Comments

It’s Monday What Are you Reading is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs.

I Read and Reviewed (click the title to be taken to the review):

This week I am planning to read (it is a bit ambitious and rather daunting):

  • Sounds Like Crazy by Shana Mahaffey
  • Get Lucky by Katherine Center
  • The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser
  • The Crowning Glory of Calla Lilly Ponder by Rebecca Wells
  • My Sister’s Voice by Mary Carter
  • Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden
  • Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden
  • Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
  • Lunch In Paris by Elizabeth Bard
  • I Serve by Rosanne E. Lortz
  • The Language God Talks by Herman Woulk
  • Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup

Visit next Monday to see if I managed to accomplish my reading goals.

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The Sunday Salon 25 April

Sunday 25 April, 2010 By 6 Comments

The Sunday Salon.com

Life: This past week has been spent helping our neighbours sort and pack their belongings as well as shop for new furniture (for them, not for my family). We moved some boxes to their new apartment but we were stopped due to the rain.

Family Update: We are always busy. With three active teens, life is never dull. One worked for months helping to create the set for the musical production at school and is now in the midst of the actual performances. Hopefully the rest of the family will be able to see the musical next week. Our oldest is still going through colleges and universities, trying to find the right fit for him. And we are all sore from packing up boxes (see above).

What I did on Saturday Night: Relaxed my weary muscles, ate Dairy Queen and spent quality time with my DH and the only son home.

Read and Reviewed: I did not think I did too well until I added up the reviews. Even with all of the chaos surrounding this past week I managed to read and review 11 books.

So what will I be reading? I am hoping to read The Lumby Lines by Gail Fraser

Happy Reading and please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

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