I adored this quick read about thirteen women who purchase a diamond necklace together and treat it as a timeshare. We each come from a different experience and our feelings about materialism & wealth & sharing & communal property differ. Friendship supersedes all that and that becomes the greatest lesson of all for these women. They can be friends despite different belief systems and motivations and even political affiliations! Yippee!! The strength is in our friends!

A fast fictional read that was simply excellent. Eilis Lacey moves to Brooklyn, New York from Enniscorthy, Ireland based on the recommendation of a priest. (circa 1950s) Eilis is grappling with social norms on both sides of the ocean. In Brooklyn, she experiences culture shock, weather shock!, and homesickness. She is obedient at school, at work and to her landlady. Then she meets Tony and things begin to change. She appears to be finding her own identity. Suddenly she must return to Ireland and once again her destiny is being determined by others. What road will she choose and why? Which would be better for her--Ireland or Brooklyn? All I could think was there must have been countless women (from all cultures) who were in situations like this--I grieve for them.

The book takes place at various lighthouses around Scotland in the late 60's and 70's, during the Vietnam war. You may wonder how the war played into lighthouse keeping but the writer was 20 and concerned about the war and Watergate. It was interesting to read how another country was so taken with both issues. Peter applies to be a summer intern on a whim and is amazed when he is given the chance to work at the lighthouse during his summer break. During the interview, he is asked if he can cook an with a straight face, says yes. His cooking special is a grilled cheese sandwich and going out to eat. Food is very important to the people working on the lighthouse and much of their day revolves around preparing it, he was fortunate to work with an excellent cook and learned to take great notes but the day he was scheduled to make hagis required all his resources. The routine of the keepers is very strict and did vary from lighthouse to lighthouse. While sharing meals and the middle of the night shift change, stories and histories were shared. He writes much of the book in the Scottish dialect so the flavor of the county comes through. An interesting book about a lost profession.

Groucho takes a lighter look at sex and how to get some. He starts with an idea and wanders away in typical Marx fashion. It seems autobiographical in parts with much humor and Marx comments thrown in to keep it very enjoyable. If you enjoy the Marx Brothers movies, this would be a fun book to read.

Dr. David Henry, an orthopedic surgeon, delivers his own son when his wife Norah goes into labor in the middle of a blizzard in 1964 and the obstetrician cannot make it to the hospital. David and Caroline, the nurse on duty, keep a secret from Norah for many years. This engrossing story keeps you wondering if the secret will ever be revealed. This is a well-crafted story you won’t want to miss.

Flavia de Luce is eleven years old, one of three motherless sisters, living in 1950s England. When she finds a stranger dying in the manor’s cucumber patch Flavia decides to investigate in order to save her philatelist father, who has been arrested. Her ability to dissemble and keen interest in chemistry allow her to roam the countryside on her bicycle to search for clues and then interpret what she finds.

This book is somewhere between Harriet the Spy and Sherlock Holmes. It is full of period details, delicious humor, and definitely a book to recommend.

Author Alan Bradley is 70 years old, and this debut novel won him the 2007 Dagger Award. He did not plan to write with the main character being a young girl, but Flavia entered his detective story and took it over. Fortunately he plans a series of books about her.

The reader, Jayne Entwhistle, does a great job of portraying Flavia’s enthusiasm and moods, as well as those of the other characters. Such glee at the thought of getting back at her snooty older sister! The soft voice while plotting devious interrogations!

This is my favorite audiobook for 2009.

I have a deep respect for Jimmy Carter and this book cemented that for me. It was so interesting to learn about Carter's childhood and young adulthood. He came from poverty and was raised by parents who respected their black neighbors and laborers. I listened to the audio performed by one of my favorite readers, Tom Stechschulte. The stories were funny, poignant, and lesson bearing. I was pleased to find that Carter is a terrific writer. Can't wait to read more by him.

This is a collection of short stories. I enjoyed the authors stories about dieting and Weight Watchers. Having been there, still there myself, they really hit home. After reading the book, I decided I did not like the sort story format. I did enjoy Berg's writing style tho and will read more by her.

I remember that this book moved me tremendously--it made me laugh and cry. The stories were poignant and real. I liked the author's move from New York City to such a small town. I liked the great vocabulary he used in his writing. And I liked the author's sensitivity to the issues of his town, neighbors and family. Excellent, fast read.

Thank you, Sharon Creech, for writing such a smashing follow up to "Love that Dog". This sequel does not disappoint! If you love poetry and love its conventions you will love this book. A student is learning how to write poetry from a terrific teacher. He is introduced to forms by reading examples of other poets and then tries his hand at them. At the end of the book, just like in Love That Dog, we have copies of all the poems that are referred to. Yippee! I love the character of Uncle Bill who is so judgmental about what Jack is learning. It is so true about the snobbery in literature. Uncle Bill calls some of the poems that Jack shares with him, "highly overrated." That made me laugh out loud. We all think we are connoisseurs sometimes. (wink) I also adored the subtlety of the description of the relationship between Jack and his mother. We read very few words yet understand fully that Jack and his mother are extremely close. This is a winner! Read "Love that Dog" first.

The book deals with the life and almost death of a marriage. The couple has been married for 20+ years and the marriage has evolved from being best friends with much passion to roommates you work to avoid. Lucky, the husband, has won a vacation to Mexico and Addy and he are going, searching to put paradise back into their lives. Addy has been questioning her life with Lucky for a while and decides to give the trip a chance. As Lucky is loading the car, he does damage to his back. Now, they no longer are going on the trip, and Addy is forced to be a caregiver to someone she's not sure she even cares about a little. Friends help out and Lucky moves next door with Bob #1. Addy deals with the things in her life cause her stress, like cleaning and chores, and finds she has heart problems even after their split and her new helpers. More hot tub discussions with her girl support group follow and the divorce word is finally spoken. Lucky's not ready to give up on their marriage and reinvents himself. Soon all of Parker's married are watching the relationship chance and their own lives jump started. Radish uses language beautifully and shows every married person how to put some life back into their love.

A pregnant calico cat, abandoned in the bayou by her family, finds refuge in the crawlspace where the hound Ranger lives. He is chained and mistreated by his cruel master, but befriends the cat and her kittens Puck and Sabine. As he grows older, curiosity drives Puck to explore outside the safety of the Underneath, causing the tragic death of Mama Cat and Puck to be lost in the forest. 

Woven through this story are thousand year old myths of shapeshifters and stories of the Caddo Indians who once lived in this area--Grandmother Moccasin and the Alligator King; Hawkman and Nightsong; thinking trees and a hummingbird who is not just a bird. Through rhythm and repetition, the story flows with magic and allegory, sadness and tenderness. David Small's drawings complement the text. 

The Underneath is a Teen National Book Award Finalist. It appeals to readers because of its writing and setting. Read aloud, it might appeal to fifth graders, but may be enjoyed by readers through adulthood.

To me, this author is the queen of short stories. Each short story ends and you find yourself thinking of continuations for that story. Even though the characters are Bengali, they could be the families and relationships in any culture. The dilemmas are very familiar. Beautiful writing--she is able to take the ordinary and express it in high detail with lots of adjectives. I love this book. (I listened to the audio--the readers were engaging.)

I am so glad I read this book. The writing was so so beautiful--the choice of words, exquisite. What a joy to read! Monte finds himself and his way back to his wife and son through an absolutely wild adventure through the West as he accompanies an Outlaw and then the Outlaw's hunter! There is wild violence, too. You just stop and say, (spoiler:) "Oh, my gosh, did he just break his finger?" Stuff like that. And, of course, some shootouts. Trying to pinpoint motivations is fun. And Leif did not opt for the clean ending--yippee! This is the way a Western should be written. It had me captured from the first page. Short chapters made progress measurable and fast. Can't wait to read Peace Like a River by the same author!

Juliet Ashton--a writer in the grim world of London just after World War II ends--is looking for a new idea for her next book.   A chance letter from Dawsey Adams, a resident of the isle of Guernsey, tickles her sense of curiosity and she begins to correspond with members of the Society to learn how the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society came to be.

Written as a series of letters and telegrams between Juliet, her friend Sophie, Sidney (her publisher and friend) and the residents of Guernsey, these brief messages bring the characters alive in all their quirkiness.  Like all humans they have their flaws as well as their good points.   Bits of trivia and carefully researched historical events are interwoven to flesh out the story.