What I Read in June and July

     Not really sure what happened to July but here we are in the second week of August. I'm a little behind in posting what I've been reading. There's been a good little mix the past two months. Don't think I'll be doing much reading this month with the Olympics on. Here's what I read in June and July.

June bookmark. Reading was nicely spread out.

The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church

      I loved the first half of this book. The last half... not so much. It's been two months since I finished reading this novel, but I know I disliked how rushed the second half was. The novel follows Meridan Wallace. At the beginning, it is 1941, she is 17 and starting a degree in ornithology at the University of Chicago. She falls in love with a professor who is recruited to Los Alamos. Eventually they are married and she moves there. The first half of the book is about their first years being married and living in Los Alamos and the secrecy of creating the bomb. This was great. Meridan didn't really fit in. It showed how she struggled and eventually made a friend. Then after spending half a book on a few years, it starts jumping forward, years at a time. She has an affair, experiments with drugs, decides to leave her husband, then doesn't, and ends up forming a group to mentor young women. The last half tries to do too much (in my opinion), I missed the detail of the first half. As a writer, I wonder if an editor had something to do with it. Perhaps the book was longer and the author was asked to shorten it. Or it was short and they asked her to add more. Either way, the two don't seem to fit together. However, there was one line I enjoyed so much I wrote it down to share here: "Maybe I couldn't acknowledge that my mother could be fearful, so great was my need to siphon strength from her." (page 126). Isn't that a great line? 

      In the middle of June, I had a mini Buffy binge. Some of Season 10 arrived at our library so all other reading was set aside. I won't give any spoilers but there were a lot of references to the TV series in the 3 graphic novels I read, which was nice.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer : New Rules - Season 10, Volume 1

This is an inside picture due to an interlibrary loan sticker over the front cover.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I Wish - Season 10, Volume 2

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Love Dares You - Season 10, Volume 3

It's always a good issue when Spike is central to the plot.

Happy Family by Tracy Barone

      This novel revolves around Cheri Matzner - her strange birth, her adoption, parts of her childhood and what her life is like as a 40 year old. An enjoyable, interesting read. I'd recommend it but I don't know what else to say about it. Good writing. 

The One That Got Away by Leigh Himes

      This novel is about Abbey Lahey who is a super stressed mother/ wife/ publicist. After falling and hitting her head, she wakes up as Abbey Van Holt, married to the rich guy who asked her out once several years ago but she had said no. Now she is living the life if she had said yes to that date. Unlike most novels with this theme, Abbey remembers her old life and although she enjoys some of the perks of having wealth, she misses her old life. She tries to find ways to go back, but does she? A good read. I'm glad it changed up the theme a bit, allowing Abbey to keep all her old memories and really know the difference between the two worlds she experienced.

Now July. A little less reading. 

The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews

      Of the all the books by Mary Kay Andrews that I've read this summer, this one might be my favourite. Probably because I also like home renovation shows. Dempsey takes refuge in her father's hometown after a political scandal. She spends time fixing up the family's homestead while figuring out what she wants to do with her life. Of course she falls in love and there are several mishaps but overall enjoyable.

Little Bitty Lies by Mary Kay Andrews

       Now this is probably the Mary Kay Andrews novel I liked the least. The storyline is just too unbelievable. I think this is an early novel by Andrews and I don't think her ability to plot a novel is as good as in her more recent novels. Maybe a great beach read or for a lazy weekend otherwise, forget it.

A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan

      This is the second time I've borrowed this novel from the library. I was able to finish it this time. It was a lot more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be. I started seeing it on a lot of must-read lists which, I have to admit, makes me not want to read it. I tend to resist overly popular works (Haven't seen Titanic or read Harry Potter). However, this was good ( I know, I know, maybe things are popular for a reason). This novel is about Alice who was working part-time, starts a new full-time job after her husband leaves his and starts his own law firm. She struggles to balance her home life now that she works so much. There was a lot about this book that I related too. It even brought me to tears when one of Alice's parents die. After all the ups and downs, Alice finds a path she is happy with. A happy ending that felt earned. Highly recommend.

Beach Town by Mary Kay Andrews

       Would make a great beach read.  Follows movie location scout, Greer, as she takes over a small town to make the lastest blockbuster. Of course falling in love and having many mishaps along the way. Nice and predictable.

Spider-Woman: Baby Talk

      My husband thought I should read this one. Who knew Superheroes have babies? A fun read. Of course she has to fight Aliens just before giving birth, and right after giving birth, but it's all good in the end. A fun, quick read.

      What have you been reading? Would love some recommendations. I'll have a bit more reading time this fall and am ready for something awesome. Or maybe I'll just read all the Margaret Atwood books I haven't read yet.

What I Read in May

     I was able to read 6 novels this month. Nothing great. A lot of women's fiction/chick lit. And yes, there is a difference between the two genres. For me, Women's fiction means; written for women, main character(s) are women, not necessarily a happy ending (i.e. girl doesn't always get guy). Chick lit is; written for women, main characters are women and their love interests, and usually all end with a happy ending. You basically know how it's going to end when you start, but the fun is in how you get there. Sometimes. Both should be believable but chick lit is probably allowed to be less so.  I think all the books I read this month would make for great beach reads if you're looking for some.

     Anyway, here's what I read this month.

Dear Thing by Julie Cohen

      The first two books I read this month ended up having a lot in common. Both take place in England and deal with baby issues. In this novel, the main character are two best friends, Romily and Ben. Romily has always had a little crush on Ben, but Ben is married to Claire. Romily is a single mother but Ben and Claire have struggled to conceive. Romily volunteers to be a surrogate using her egg and Ben's sperm. I think every reader can imagine what comes next and everything kind of falls apart but all ends up how it should in the end. Plus there's a home birth. Unplanned, but I loved that it was in there without any complications for the birth mother or baby. (It's always nice to find a good birth story in a novel). I enjoyed this novel. Nice twists and turn. I think this is more Women's fiction than Chick lit due to the emotional drama. And the happy ending was just one of several ways the novel could have ended.

The Secrets We Keep by Stephanie Butland

      Another novel that takes place in England with an unexpected baby in the plot. I read this because I had it out from the library for months - it had a "New Spring 2015" sticker on the spine - and I wanted to return it. Novel centers around Elizabeth and Kate. Elizabeth's husband, a police officer named Mike, dies rescuing Kate from drowning in a pond. He drowns instead. It's a very good novel with a lot of twists and turns that I didn't expect. Highly recommend it. I'd tell you more but I'd rather you discover all the secrets yourself.

      Somehow, I ended the month by reading 4 books by the same author, Mary Kay Andrews. I read two this weekend. They are fast reads. All take place in the Georgia/ Carolinas area. I would consider them all Chick Lit novels. Definite beach reads. Each novel is around 400 pages (hardcover) and I have several more checked out or requested from the library. Little warning - all the books below contain swearing and sex, so read only if you are comfortable with that kind of stuff.

The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews

     I read this one first, because I requested it from the library. Not sure why I requested it. Perhaps I read a review or just from looking at the description on the library website. Novel centers around Riley, who always summers on Belle Isle in North Carolina. This year she arrives to a notice on the front door that her house is in foreclosure and her husband, who she is going to divorce, is missing. He turns up dead and plenty of people are suspects, including Riley. Riley spends most of the novel investigating her husband but then gets side-tracked with an old flame. My only complaint about the book is that the murder seems completely forgotten about for 50 pages while she is romanced and then quickly solved with about 15 pages left. She also has a 12 year old daughter who has been diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes within the past year. The author uses it as a plot device when necessary but I found that very frustrating. My nephew has juvenile diabetes and from what I've learned in the 8 years since his diagnosis, the way the disease is treated in the book is very unrealistic.  However, I enjoyed it enough to go to the library and check out a bunch more of her novels.

Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews

      Novel centers around Cara, a florist in Savannah. I don't think much description is needed for this book. A guy she meets at the first wedding mentioned in the book, ends up being the obvious love interest. There's drama, competition from a new florist in town and a runaway bride. But it all works out in the end, of course.

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

      Ellis, Dorie and Julia are lifelong friends that meet up for the month of August in Nags Head, North Carolina. Each has there own problems and secrets that come out as the novel progresses. They are joined by Maryn/Madison who has secrets of her own. Each lady gets a happy ending (some happier than others) by the time August is over. Predictable but enjoyable.

Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews

      Annajane is all ready to leave her job and ex-husband, Mason, behind. She has a new job in a new city with a new fiancee. When Mason's wedding is stopped as his new bride is walking up the aisle, Mason and Annajane end up with a second chance. Lots of family secrets emerge giving the novel some good twists. Of course they end up back together, but how do they get there? You have to read to find out.

      May bookmark. I guess I read in bunches this month, but I'm coming to realize that is often how I read.  

Have you read anything good lately?

What I Read in April

      It seems that these monthly wrap up posts keep being written later and later. Hard to believe the first week of May is over already. I'm not really sure what happened to April. I was editing for Camp NaNoWriMo in April which took up a lot of my reading time. My goal had been to finish editing my novel and have it be 90,000 words. By the end of April I had edited 16 chapters (about halfway) and the word count was just shy of 77,000 words. I added almost 8,000 words, probably closer to 10,000 as several paragraphs were deleted and rewritten. So, I'm still working on it.

Here is what I read in April:

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

      I really resisted reading this one but decided to read it after I heard so many good reviews of the book. I enjoyed reading it, even if I didn't agree with everything in it. I liked it as a writer, to hear about the struggles of getting published and how many of her books came to be. I think anyone would like this but creative people might get more out of it. I wish I had wrote down my initial thoughts of this book after I read it because I'm struggling to remember what I really thought of it. I know there is a podcast that goes along with the book, but I haven't listened to an episode yet.

Fables: Happily Ever After

And April marked the end of reading Fables, for me. They set up two sides to have a major battle, where one would have to die but of course that isn't how it ended. I don't want to give too much away so I'll leave it at that. I enjoyed this series and thought of starting over once I was done. It's always neat to go back and see the little clues you might have missed the first time. Not thrilled but okay with how it ended. I guess I kind of wanted the big battle.

Fables: Farewell

A History of European Art with Professor William Kloss. 48 lectures, 30 minutes each

     I watched this series with my daughter, mainly after school. We enjoyed the professor but the beginning of the series was heavy in religious art. This made sense as the Catholic church sponsored a lot of the artists but I don't think all the altarpieces that were shown were necessary. It would have been nice to have more lectures on art created in the past 300 years than 500-600 years ago. There was also not one female artist mentioned. This kind of pissed us off. 

From Monet to Van Gogh: A History of Impression with Professor Richard Brettell, 24 lectures, 30 minutes each.

      My daughter and I both enjoy Impressionism, so we enjoyed the paintings shown in this series. However, the professor was a little boring sometimes. At the end of some lectures my daughter and I would both be lying down and almost asleep - the art kept us awake.  This series did include two female artists; Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot. The Van Gogh episode lacked since the lecture was about Gauguin's visit with him in Arles for a couple months. I know Van Gogh isn't really thought of as being an Impressionist but if his name is in the title of the series you expect more. Of course, I might be a little biased since I adore him.

     My April bookmark. I've already finished reading two novels this month. I think I might start a draft of my What I Read in May post so I can get my thoughts about them written before I forget.

Have you read anything good lately?

What I Read in March

     I've been busy editing and entertaining kids home on Spring Break this week so I don't have any WIP's to show today. Instead I thought I 'd share what I read last month. A couple novels and lots of graphic novels. I really want to finish the Fables series and get them off our library shelf. I read 7 last month and am down to the last 2. I should finish the series this month and can't wait to find out how it all ends.

      Here's what I read in March.

Dear Emma by Katie Heaney

      This isn't classified as Young Adult but I think it might cross into that genre a little bit. The main character, Harriet, is a college student who writes an advice column for the school paper. Of course some boy treats her wrong and and starts going out with a girl that Harriet works with. That girl writes into the Dear Emma column not knowing Harriet is Emma or that Harriet had dated her boyfriend before her. Chaos and angst follows but everything works out in the end. Harriet learns the lessons she needs to learn and is happy. It's an alright novel. Not exactly what I was expecting but was a quick read. Could've been better.

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland

      This one was recommended to me by my mother. The novel is a fictional account of Renoir painting the artwork used for the title of the novel. I didn't really enjoy the first 100 pages but they were necessary to set up the rest of the book. I was constantly looking at the painting while I was reading the book. There are insets of the painting and others that are mentioned in the book which saved me from looking them up on the internet. Overall, it was an enjoyable read. Vreeland has written other novels with art as the inspiration that I might read.

A History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts. Lecture Series with Professor Robert Bucholz

      I've mentioned before my love of history, especially the British monarchy around the time of Henry VIII. I don't know why this time appeals to me, but it does. When I saw this lecture series at the library I thought it would be fun to have on in the afternoons. There were 48 lectures, each 30 minutes long. I enjoyed most of them, and learned about some of the Kings and Queens that came after Henry that I didn't know much about before. Some of the background lectures were a bit boring but it was still interesting to learn what everyday life was like for citizens of England at that time. I enjoyed the series enough that I am currently watching one about European Art with my daughter and have one about Impressionist Art that we will watch after that. I've tried watching several lecture series the past couple years. This is the first one that I actually finished. One had a lecturer with such a monotone voice that I fell asleep every time I watched. Needless to say, I returned that one. This series I enjoyed and am looking for more history series to watch.

      Here are all the Fables I read last month. They have been dropping hints about how it might end but I know there will be several twists before the series is over. I'd definitely recommend this series for anyone interested in reading graphic novels but doesn't want to read about Superheroes.

Fables: Rose Red

Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland

Fables: Super Team

Fables: Inherit the Wind

Fables: Cubs in Toyland

Fables: Snow White

Fables: Camelot

       And my March bookmark. The Fables were all I read for the last 3 weeks of March. I'd finish one and get the next one off the shelf so I was reading them pretty quick. 

What have you been reading lately?

What I read in February

     I barely read at all in February. I'm not really sure why I didn't read much but I guess I got distracted knitting my Thermal Tunic. And the kids were off school for a week. I've also spent a lot of the time I usually read watching a lecture series I borrowed from the library. It's 24 hours long and I just finished it on Friday. I'll include it in my What I Read in March list. 

Here are the few things I read last month.

Jack of Fables: The End

This was the last in the Fables spin-off that focused on Jack. Funny ending (in Canada, no less). I had been reading one graphic novel a week but this was the only one I read in February. 

Sentences and Rain by Elaine Equi

I'm thrilled that I borrowed this from the library. I really enjoyed reading the poems over several days and hope to read more of her poetry in the future. Including a couple lines from a poem that I really liked.

From the poem "Slight"

"No one ever says:
'You make me slightly happy.'

Although this, in fact,
is often the case."

My sad looking February bookmark with only 2 dates circled. Hoping to read more in March (I've already finished reading 2 novels). I looked to see what I read last February and was happy to see I only read 2 books last February, too. Maybe it's a February thing.

Have you read anything good lately?

What I Read in January

Before I get to what I read last month, I have to mention a gift I received for Christmas from my mother. A set of calendar bookmarks.

At first I thought I was suppose to cross-stitch the detail. Then my mom asked if I liked them and I realized she had done the cross-stitch for me, I was very touched. As someone who makes gifts for so many, I love it when someone takes the time to make something for me. My mother saved me a ton of time and I got to use them right away.

Here is January's bookmark.

 I circled the days I finished a book...

... and then wrote the titles on the back of the book mark. It will be neat to look back at the end of the year. Thanks mom.

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

This is the first Anne Tyler novel that I've read. I've heard of her but never got around to reading anything by her and I don't know if I will again. The writing was really good but I kept waiting for something really dramatic to happen and then the book was over. It wasn't boring, I just felt more could have happened. The novel looks at 3 generations of a family. It jumps back and forth so as you read about the past, you understand parts you've already read. This would probably make a great vacation read but I was looking for something a little more...dramatic.

Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten

Another attempt at reading teen fiction (why do I do this to myself?). The first half was really good and I was going to recommend it to my daughter to read but then it got weird. It had great twists but it's definitely not for young teens. Older teens, maybe. I told my daughter the plot and she was glad she didn't read it. I don't want to give too much away but... the novel begins a year or so after 2 best friends (June and Delia) stop talking to each other after something happens with them and June's boyfriend. When June returns to school after Christmas vacation, she is surprised to hear that Delia has died and that it looks like a suicide. June doesn't quite believe it and starts investigating. There are multiple people that could have killed Delia and make it look like a suicide. Through flashbacks you learn more about June and Delia's friendship and who might have wanted Delia dead. Then  SPOILER ALERT - it turns out Delia isn't dead but faked her own death with the help of 3 friends June has never met before. And then the real craziness begins. I won't tell you anymore than that. Definitely interesting. Not sure if it's for teens. Read if you like books with unexpected twists.

Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis

I was intrigued by this book when I saw it winning lots of awards last year. When it appeared on the new books page on our public library website, I requested it not knowing anything about it. The novel is about 15 dogs being given human intelligence and language by the Gods, Apollo and Hermes, and what happens to them after. The two gods had made a bet. One believes that none of the dogs will die happy. The other, thinks intelligence will lead to happiness. The fate of the 15 dogs is interesting, some embracing the change, while others fight it. I won't spoil the novel but I do recommend it. I didn't think I was going to like it but I did and still think about it and what it says about humans and how we treat those we consider different from ourselves. 

Queen Victoria's Mysterious Daughter: A Biography of Princess Louise by Lucinda Hawksley

The title of this book is why I requested it from the library. I enjoy reading books about royalty, although I tend to read books about royals from around the time of Henry VIII. I haven't read much about Queen Victoria and thought learning about one of her children was a good start. Louise's husband was an early Governor General of Canada and Louise helped to name both the city of Regina and the province Alberta. There is also a Lake Louise in Alberta named after her. I'm not sure how accurate the book is. A lot of the files on Princess Louise are locked in the Royal Archives and information about a lot of the people close to her have also become classified. Not sure if this means that the Royal family is actually hiding the truth about Princess Louise's life or if the author was looking for Louise's life to be something more than it was. If you like reading about royalty, read it and make your own conclusions. 

And the graphic novels I read:

Fables: The Great Fables Crossover

Jack of Fables; The New Adventures of Jack and Jack

Fables - Witches

Jack of Fables: The Fulminate Blade

I wonder what I'll read this month.