Books from Grandma Skip

By the looks of it, I was busy in May. I did not get one thing posted to the blog. Here's hoping that June is a better month. I am starting off on the right foot by getting a box of books from my grandma. These titles were all included -

- Lucky Charm - Carly Phillips
- Runaway Mistress - Robyn Carr
- The Gift - Nora Roberts
- In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner - Elizabeth George
- Cherry Cheesecake Murder - Joanne Fluke
- A Summer Affair - Susan Wiggs
- Almost Like Being in Love - Christina Dodd
- One Day at at Time - Danielle Steel
- The Oath - John Lescroart
- The Whole Truth - Dacid Baldacci
- Firestorm - Iris Johansen
- Yours2Keep - multiple authors
- S is for Silence - Sue Grafton
- Just Breathe - Susan Wiggs
- Country Brides - Debbie Macomber
- Another Man's Son - Katherine Stone
- Fearless Fourteen - Janet Evanovich
- Honeymoon - James Patterson
- The Pagan Stone - Nora Roberts
- L is for Lawless - Sue Grafton
- The Broker - John Grisham
- Just Over the Mountain - Robyn Carr
- Four Blind Mice - James Patterson

Whew! That's a whole lot of summer reading.

Review - The Unnamed - Joshua Ferris

From the front flap - "Tim Farmsworth is a handsome, healthy man, aging with the grace of a matinee idol. His wife, Jane, still loves him and for all its quiet trials, their marriage is still stronger than most. Despite long hours at the office, he remains passionate about his work, and his partnership at a prestigious Manhattan law firm means that the work he does is important. An even as his daughter, Becka, retreats being her guitar, her dreadlocks, and her puppy fat, he offers her every on of a father's honest lies about her being the most beautiful girl in the world. He loves his wife, his family, his work, his home. And then one day he stands up and walks out. And keeps walking."

In the spirit of full disclosure, I am still not sure how I feel about this book. At first, I was intrigued by the mysterious illness that affects Tim. Why does he keep walking? How has it gone undiagnosed for so long? I kept thinking that I would get answers but I didn't. The book was hard to read because seeing Tim and his family struggle was hard to read about. It was fascinating to see how each of the family members cope with this challenge and how it drastically affects all of their lives. That being said, the book left me feeling a little but unfulfilled. Like I said at the beginning, I am still not sure about this book.

Title: TheUnnamed
Author: Joshua Ferris
Publisher:Reagan Arthur Books
Source: Library
Rating: 3/5

Books from Grandma Skip

Every few weeks I get a box of books in the mail from my Grandma Skip. She reads books in her spare time and she has a lot of spare time. All of her books are signed on the inside flap with her name and the date and location of where the book was read. Occasionally, she includes a sticky note with some additional information for me. You can see from the list that she likes mysteries and romance.

April's box contains the following titles:
- Under the Boardwalk - Various Authors
- No Choice but Seduction - Johanna Lindsey
- At the King's Command - Susan Wiggs
- A Virgin River Christmas - Robyn Carr
- The Law of Love - Nora Roberts
- The Hunt Club - John Lescroart
- Eleventh Hour - Catherine Coulter
- Web of Love - Mary Balogh
- The Edge of Winter - Luanne Rice
- Irish Magic - Various Authors
- Sooner of Later - Debbie Macomber
- Last Kiss - Luanne Rice
- Angel's Peak - Robyn Carr

Added to the pile :)

One Word Review - The Help - Kathryn Stockett

In one word - LOVE (as in I loved this book and if you have not read it already it should be the next book you read!)

Title: The Help
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Publisher:Amy Einhorn
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5

Reading Time

I have noticed that when works gets busy my reading time goes out the window. Usually, it's just because I am too tired at the end of the day to read too much without falling asleep. I was so excited to be able to have 7 hours of uninterrupted reading time when I flew to California last week. It almost makes me want to spend more time on a plane...almost. Unfortunately, the red-eye back to North Carolina was not as conducive to getting reading done.

Where and when do you have the most reading time?

Great Quotes

"Perhaps that is what all human relationships boiled down to: would you save my life or would you take it?"

- Toni Morrison
Song of Solomon

Review - Unfinished Desires - Gail Godwin

From the inside flap:
It is the fall of 1951 at Mount St. Gabriel's, an all-girls school tucked away in the mountains of North Carolina. Tildy Stratton, the undisputed queen bee of her class, befriends Chloe Starnes, a new student recently orphaned by the untimely and mysterious death of her mother. Their friendship fills a void for both girls but also sets in motion a chain of events that will profoundly affect the course of many lives, including the girls' young teacher and the school's matriarch, Mother Suzanne Ravenel.

I enjoyed this book until it got to the 'chain of events' - really one night - that changed everything. I thought the the book lost a little something after that. There is a lot going on in the book - it jumps from the present back into the early fifties and has multiple narrators. I thought the most interesting character was Mother Ravenel and enjoyed the book the most when she was narrating. I was not as fond of the Tildy character - she seemed like a spoiled brat most of the time. It could be that that was the point.

Worth a read.

Title: Unfinished Desires
Author: Gail Godwin
Publisher: Random House
Rating: 3.5/5
Source of book: Library