Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist

Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Historical fiction...set at the Biltmore House in the late 1890s. Focuses on the working staff for the Vanderbilt family. The main character, Tillie, aspires to be Mrs. Vanderbilt's Lady's Maid; however, she is also falling in love with a new worker, Mack. Nice easy read. Great description of the Biltmore house and it's furnishings.



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High Five by Janet Evanovich

High Five by Janet Evanovich

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


These books help me get to sleep at night. Similar plot in each one...Stephanie Plum is a newly minted bounty hunter and always seems to be getting herself in trouble. Murder and romance.

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My Name is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder

Two books starting with "My Name is..." in two posts.  Kind of weird.  

As mentioned in my first post, I read Russell Fink when I had a colicky baby for 17 straight weeks at all hours of the day, so I didn't really remember it.

Now I remember why I didn't remember it in the first place.  I didn't love the ending.  I will say I love books that have a nice little ending wrapped up with a bow on top, but I also love books that leave me thinking and letting my imagination wander.  This book was at the in-between place of what happened and what might happen.  I just didn't love it. 

I liked it okay.  On the goodreads scale it was a 2.  

So it's about a 20-something guy, who hates his job as a copier salesman, has hypochondria and always thinks he's going to die, has a crazy fiancee, and a sweet dog that somehow ends up dead. His family is dysfunctional - mom's an alcoholic, dad's a preacher, brother's a bit nuts.  There is definitely some humor in it, but it's kind of all over the place when it comes to the writing.

My next book club book is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.  And I'm also reading Janet Evanovich's  High Five - it's a guilty pleasure. 

My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares

My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Read this in about 3 days. Great read. Soulmates from 480ish A.D. to present day 2009. A man remembers his previous lives and his one true love.

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Vines & Spines - The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes

My Vines & Spines book club met for the first time since June last night...we skipped July because of Summer, and vowed NEVER to do that again!  

Our August book was The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain.  This book was excellent.  Not many books get "excellent" from me.  It starts when the Governer's wife gets kidnapped while she is very pregnant.  CeeCee Wilkes is in on the kidnapping, and the wife ends up dead.  Not to give too much away but CeeCee becomes Eve Elliott and we learn of her life from there.  There are many topics covered in the book - phobias, the death penalty, underground organizations, abortion, extramarital affairs, and even love.  

Great read and a great discussion with awesome ladies!

Here We Go

I was at work today talking about a book I recommended to a co-worker.  She said something to the effect of, "You should start a blog, you always offer such great suggestions."  I took that as a compliment, and now here I sit.

Now what.  

Who, Where and How I find books:

I guess I'll start with where I find the books I read.  I am in a book club called "Vines & Spines."  We meet on a monthly basis, each person picks out a book to read for that month, and hosts the group at their house or another venue to discuss the book. 

Our "book club lead", The Leader, has signed up with publisher's and we now get local books sent to the club.  I think I'm one of the few who has read several of those freebies.  In fact, one of the freebies I had already read on my best Christmas present ever....

My best Christmas present EVER this year was a surprise from my husband - a Kindle.  I am in love with that thing (although the battery life has dramatically decreased in the 8 months since I received it and I never have the wireless on except to download new books, of course!).   I have found books through recommendations on the Kindle.  

I ask friends at work for recommendations, friends from organizations that I'm involved in for recommendations, and my great network of friends both near and far for recommendations.

I look at Amazon for books, and am on Borders and Barnes & Noble's mailing lists. 

When:

I read a lot.  At least three to four books a month, and no, not just the short stories that I read to my 10 month old at night.  If I included those in the mix it would be more like three to four hundred books a month.  I'm trying to instill in him early that reading is a great thing.

I read mostly at night before I go to bed.  If it's a good book I will stay up WAY past my 10:00 bedtime and continue reading.  I read on the weekends when the baby is napping.  That's pretty much it, because not only do I have a baby, I also work full-time. 

What:

What am I reading today.  Well, I will say that I am always reading my all-time favorite book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  I have it on my Kindle, I have the copy I bought the summer before my junior year of high school sitting on my nightstand, and I have another copy of it on my bookshelf in our office, for good measure.  I have read this book no less than 100 times over the last 18 years (yes, that's how long it's been since I was a junior in high school, kind of shocking to write that down).  

Kindle: My Name is Russell Fink by Michael Snyder

This is my second time to read this book, by accident.  I read it in the wee hours of the night when the baby was more of a baby and didn't sleep at all.  I completely forgot what it was about and now that I'm 74% through the book I still don't remember how it ends.  I'll give you my opinion of it when I finish it up, probably tonight or tomorrow night.

I'll leave my first post at that for now.  I feel like it's already WAY to long, but I like to write too.  So here we go, into the land of a blog about books.