The Light Between Oceans

I've looked at this book quite a few times and read some reviews. Most were complimentary but some weren't so I put off downloading it until this week when I needed a good book. Boy, was this ever good! I started it on Friday and finished it this morning just after 4am with tears streaming down my cheeks.

Tom Sherbourne has just returned from WWI and takes a post on the island of Janus as lighthouse keeper. He brings with him his bride, Isabel. After five years, two miscarriages, and a stillbirth, a boat washes ashore with a dead man and an alive baby girl.

They decide to just bury the body and raise the girl they name Lucy as their own. Everyone knew Isabel was pregnant but word hasn't gotten back to the mainland about the stillbirth so it is easy to pass Lucy off as theirs.

But can they live with their consciences? And, what happens when they find out who Lucy's real parents are?

The writing is exquisite. The characters are flawed but likable. The plot is believable. A thousand thumbs up!

And When She Was Good

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. It alternates between the present when Heloise Lewis is a suburban mom, raising her eleven-year-old son and is the owner of an escort service disguised as a lobbying business, and the past when Helen Lewis is an abused teenager trying to survive.

Even though she is a prostitute, I couldn't help cheering for her. She's smart and dedicated to her son. What I especially liked is how flawed she is...just like all of us.

I read this novel in two days. Now, I need something new to start but nothing looks as interesting as this one.
Posted by Linda Jacobs at 10:33 AM

Merry Christmas, Alex Cross

I just can't resist this guy! I love his family, his values, and his intelligence.

In this installment, Alex deals with two situations. In the first one, he must prevent a man from murdering his ex-wife, their three kids, his wife's new husband, and a neighbor...on Christmas Eve when he'd much rather be at home.

In the second situation, he meets a terrorist from a previous novel. This time she's trying to blow up a railway station...on the same Christmas Eve when Alex would rather be at home.

Yes, this one is as formulaic as the other novels in the series but, it's the characters, clean writing, and morals that keep me coming back for more.

Danny's Mom

I had a hard time reading this book....not hard as in difficult to understand but hard emotionally. But I still couldn't put it down.

Beth Maller's son, Danny is killed in an automobile accident. She didn't want him to drive that night because he'd just gotten his license and snow was predicted. But her husband overrules her saying she's babying him and won't let him grow up. So, off he goes, never to return.

Beth blames her husband but also herself for not being stronger and more assertive. When she returns to her job as a high school guidance counsellor, her meekness is put to the test by a needy student, homophobic slurs against another teacher, and an uncooperative administration.

While reading this novel, I was Beth. I was back in high school dealing with teenagers and all their problems. How many times did I ignore issues so as not to sway the ship? How many students slipped through the cracks because I followed the rules? I'll be haunted by these thoughts and Beth for a long while.

Miracle Cure

I just can't resist Harlan Coben. So when Amazon sent me an email announcing this first book of his was now in Kindle format, I had to download it, of course.

The book is set in the late 80s. Harvey Riker is a scientist working on a cure for AIDS. Things are looking good when several of his experimental patients test negative for the virus. But, now, those survivors are being killed off one by one.

Sara Lowell is a journalist doing a story on the clinic. Her husband is a star basketball player who contracted the AIDS virus through a blood transfusion in the Bahamas six years earlier. Now, he is undergoing Riker's miracle cure. Then he disappears....

This was a quick read. Coben's writing is still immature in it; it lacks the humor and sharp edges of his more recent work. But, it's still plenty good!

Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore

Any title that has the word "bookstore" in it will always catch my attention. And this one was no different.

Clay Jannon is the night clerk at Mr. Penumbra's bookstore. But, it's a weird bookstore. Sure, there are some recent books at the front but the rear of the store is what fascinates Clay. Stacked from floor to ceiling are old books. He's told never to look in them. When patrons come into the store looking for a certain volume, he's to fetch it but that's all.

Of course his curiosity gets the better of him and he peeks. But he can't make out anything because the books are all in code. With the help of several computer geek friends, he embarks on a mission to decode the books.

Robin Sloane's writing is crisp and fresh. But, I have to admit I did get bogged down for awhile in the middle. Maybe it was me but I just didn't care all that much what happened. I put it down and read another book but then went back to it and managed to finish it. I'm glad I did. I liked it. I didn't love it like I thought I would and I can't really put my finger on why. The characters are interesting but there seemed to be something missing in their development.

Overall, though, the concept is cool and worth the money I spent on it.

The Racketeer

I read this novel in two days! There is just something about the clean writing of John Grisham that appeals to me.
Malcolm Bannister is serving a ten-year prison sentence for money laundering, a crime he is innocent of. While there he makes friends with an inmate who reveals to him that he plans on killing a Supreme Court judge.
When the murder takes place, Malcolm uses the info as a get-out-of-jail card. But that's just the beginning. The rest of the book is a non-stop escape! I loved it!

Accelerated

Wow! This was an eye-opener. As a teacher I was concerned about the high incidence of ADD and ADHD and the medications given to kids to control it.

This novel looks at that issue in NYC's best private school. Sean Benning's son is a third grade student at Bentley, a prestigious school. When the school psychologist suggests that his son, Toby might have ADD, Sean doesn't believe it. But, after a visit to an independent psychologist, he reluctantly agrees to the use of a Ritalin-like drug to help Toby keep up with his classmates.

But there are side effects and, after Toby has a reaction, Sean is determined to find out why the school was so intent on pushing these drugs.

I honestly couldn't put this book down. It's well written and kept me turning the pages.

Seconds Away

This is the second novel in the Mickey Bolitar series and I can't wait for the third installment. There is just something about the characters and the writing that I love.

In this installment Mickey and his sidekicks, Ema and Spoon, must solve the mystery of their other friend, Rachel's, shooting and Rachel's mom's murder.

As usual, the writing is spot on, the characters believable and lovable, and the action nonstop. If these books don't get teenagers reading, nothing will!

Shelter

I don't know why I hesitated to read this series by Harlan Coben because I love his writing. But, I'm glad I finally downloaded it and I read it one day!

Mickey Bolitar's dad is dead and his mom is in rehab so he has to live with his uncle, Myron. He hates Myron but knows he has no place else to go.

Mickey starts a new school and even has a new girlfriend but when she disappears, he and his quirky, nerdy friends decide to investigate.

Even though this is a YA novel, it reads like an adult one. Harlan Coben is just so masterful! He creates characters who are fun and real and this book just has so much heart.

In fact, as soon as I finished it, I downloaded the second one that was just released and I'm halfway through it.

Last to Die

Tess Gerritsen lives in Maine and that's what originally attracted me to her. So glad I found her!

Three teenagers have something in common. Their parents were killed the same week and the three kids survived. Now, their foster families are being murdered, too, and, again, the kids manage to escape. What connection could these kids have? Who wants them dead?

That's the mystery Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles must solve. It takes them to Evensong, the secluded private school in Maine the kids attend.

I really enjoyed this novel. The writing is crisp and the characters are believable and interesting. The focus switches from character to character so it's never boring.

Yay, I updated in a timely manner! Now, that I've figured out how to use the BlogPress app, it makes it so much easier to do it using my iPad.

I'm still trying to add a video but it keeps saying my YouTube password is wrong. I know it isn't because I tried it out at the YouTube site and it worked fine there. So, I've still got to twiddle with that. I took a video of Kylie reading to me. Yes! It happened, just as I thought it would. It made me realize that she's been able to read for a while, now, but, it's still a chore so she's been hiding it. When I challenged her, told her she'd be reading to me NEXT year, she took the bait. "Oh, I can read now, Grammy!" So I made her prove it. And she did! I hope to have it on here soon.

Update...Finally

Oh, I've been so neglectful of this blog! I don't know why I got so lazy. I have been reading, though. Now, if I can just remember anything about the books!


This was a sweet but harrowing coming-of-age novel about a young girl dealing with the slowing of the earth, the lengthening of days and nights, and the dissolution of her parents' marriage. It's wonderfully written with simple but beautiful language.



This is one I spent quite a bit of time on but haven't finished yet. It is about a wife who goes missing. It's told through two voices. The husband speaks and the more he says the creepier he gets. The wife's voice is heard through diary entries talking about their life together and that gets weirder and weirder.

I'm a curious soul so I'll definitely finish it but I just have to be in the right mood.



I read this one fairly quickly. It, too, is told through two voices but this time it's two half sisters. Dana's father is a bigamist. She grows up knowing he has another wife and daughter and always feels like she takes second place to his other daughter, Chaurisse.

The second half of the book is told through Chaurisse's eyes. She and her mom have no idea of her father's other family. When Chaurisse and Dana meet is when the book gets really interesting.

This is also very well written with lovely descriptions.


I just finished this one yesterday and am still freaked out. It is one scary book...not edge-of-your-seat scary but scary in the sense that, Yikes!, this could really happen and might even be happening as we speak.

Jackson Oz is a scientist who notices that there has been a worldwide increase in human deaths from animal attacks. But, no one will listen to his warnings until it's too late. He's a smart cookie and figures out what is causing the animals to act so out of character but the solution makes no one happy. This one will stay with me for quite a while.



Written by Tracey Clark, the founder of the Shutter Sisters blog, this how-to book is an ongoing read for me. I love all her simple yet effective ideas for capturing everyday life. Every time I read a section, it makes me want to pick up my camera and start snapping away. She doesn't go into the technical aspects of photography, just keeps it creative and fun.



Kylie and I are making our way through the Junie B. Jones series of books. They are a riot and we always crack up when reading about her misadventures. Junie B. is quirky and unique and we love her. Kylie started first grade last week and before I know it, she'll be reading to me!


Here she is heading into her first day. Don't you just love the welcoming look on her teacher's face? Ky will be visiting us this weekend and I'm anxious to hear all about how it's going. Just before school started I said to her, "You'll probably have homework this year." Her reply? "I know; I can't wait!"

She's just like her grandma!

The Innocent and Wheat Belly

I haven't read too many David Baldacci books because sometimes they just sound a bit too political but this one had an interesting summary so I decided to try it. Glad I did!

Robie is a hired killer, hired by our government to take out monsters. He has no problem doing that and he's excellent at it. One night he's hired to kill a woman but when he gets to her apartment and he sees her sleeping with her infant son, he can't do it. Suddenly, there is a shot. It misses Robie but kills the mom and child. Robie takes off, boards a bus, and meets Julie, a fourteen-year-old, also on the run.

Together, they must solve two mysteries: who killed the woman and child and who killed Julie's parents.




I'm a nutrition nut, always have been. I drove my kids nuts trying to make them eat right. But what is right? Well, I still don't know but this was an interesting look at wheat.

For years we ate only whole wheat bread. I used to make my own back in the seventies because it was unavailable in stores.

Then I read about blood type and, being a type O, I stopped eating wheat products...most of the time. I substituted with spelt, rice, and " gluten-free" breads.

This book made me stop that, though. I found out that the wheat produced now-a-days is not the same as ancient wheat; it's genetically modified to be bug resistant, produce larger yields, and grow faster and shorter. And it plays havoc with our systems. It has a really high glycemic index which causes spikes in our blood sugar, stores as fat, and makes us put on weight...thus, wheat belly.

So, starting a week ago today I stopped eating wheat, rice, spelt, and "gluten-free" products because they are made out of potato and rice flours which also have a high glycemic index. I feel great. I'm never hungry since the foods I'm eating digest slowly and keep me satisfied.

I'm sure I'll end up having some wheat but I'm going to make better choices overall. And if I lose a few pounds in the process, I'll be thrilled. I'm sick of my flubs! I'm not way overweight, or anything; I just have a bit of a spare tire I'd like to flatten. Maybe this will do the trick.

Here's what I had for lunch today: natural turkey breast from the grocery deli (no nitrates or nitrites) smeared with cream cheese and rolled with pepper jack cheese; raw green beans; and cottage cheese with hot pepper relish. Yum!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Guilty Wives and Come Home

Yes, I bought another James Patterson novel! And, I'm glad I did because this one was pretty good.

Four friends head to Monte Carlo for a few days of R&R from their normal lives. They meet rich people and end up on a yacht. The next morning they are arrested for murder.

This book describes what it is like inside a French prison and what their court system is like. I found it very interesting....sort of like that TV show Locked Up Abroad.

















Then I moved on to Come Home. This was another quick read. Jill is a pediatrician and mom. She's engaged to Sam. One night, her ex-stepdaughter appears out of nowhere asking Jill to help her solve her father's murder.

Jill has always felt guilty for not keeping in contact with Abby after her divorce from Abby's father so she reluctantly begins to help her while trying to balance her medical practice, her present family, and her past.

I'm posting this using an app called BlogPress on my iPad. I'm not sure it will work very well but it's worth a try since the more I use my tablet the less I want to use my laptop and that's why I'm always so late keeping this blog up to date. So, anyway, here goes..........
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Under the Dome

Hallelujah!  I finally finished all 1070 pages of Under the Dome!  It seemed to take me forever but I did enjoy it and never even considered quitting.

I almost didn't read it, though, since some of King's books haven't appealed to me like Cell.  I had the hardest time getting into that one.  So, when Under the Dome was first published, I read the description and didn't think it would be up my alley.

Then, just lately, I read some good things about it so decided it was time.  And I'm glad I did. 

Basically, it's about an invisible dome that descends over the small Maine town of Chester's Mill sealing everyone inside.  Some air gets through so they don't suffocate.  What makes this book so interesting is the magnifying glass through which we see the townsfolk.  King has such a gift for creating unique characters.

And there are plenty in the novel but it's really easy to keep them straight.  From the heroes like Dale Barbara, Rusty and Linda Everett, Julia Shumway, and teenager Joe McClatchey to the Hitler-like villians of Big Jim Rennie and his son Junior. 

I grew up in a small town barely sixty miles from where this novel is set and am very familiar with the area beause it's on my route to camp. But, even if I lived a thousand miles away, I would have enjoyed it just as much since King develops his characters so well.  His writing is just so darn...delicious!

Fifty Shades of Grey

Every time I watch the news, it seems this book is mentioned.  The other day I saw that it is banned in some libraries in Florida.  So, naturally, I had to download it! 

Now, I'm no prude and I like a racy story as much as the next guy, but this book has absolutely no redeeming qualities!  Well, except for the sex, of course!  But, really, I had to stop reading it because it has no literary merit whatsoever.

Basically, it's about a girl, (can't remember her name!) a virgin, who meets Christain Grey, a rich playboy and he sweeps her off her feet.  To have a relationship with him, she must agree to his bondage stipulations.

And, that's it!  There doesn't seem to be anything else to this novel.  Yes, I quit reading about a third of the way through and I didn't even get to any bondage parts so I really shouldn't judge without reading the whole thing but that is just too much punishment! 

Flat characters.  A nonexistent plot.  And a proliferation of the word "hormones"!  Give me a break!

Before I Fall

I liked Pandemonium so much that decided to read another of Lauren Oliver's books.  She wrote this one before the Delirium trilogy and it has nothing to do with that series.

Samantha Kingston is a popular high school senior who gets killed one night after a party.  But there is a glitch.  She has to relive her last day seven times. 

At first I thought this was a typical YA novel and I was a bit bored but as Sam's week goes on, I really got involved in her life and by the end, I couldn't put it down.

Even the writing gets more and more beautiful as the novel progresses. 

Stay Close and Pandemonium

I love Harlan Coben and liked this book so I have no idea why it took me almost three weeks to read it!  Okay, I guess I do know why and it has nothing to do with the book; it has to do with me.  I started playing Slotomania and got addicted!  My bad!

Anyway, this book follows a suburban soccer mom from her normal life of wife and mother of two kids to her prostitute past and her lost love.

Every year on Mardi Gras, a man goes missing.  But they were not nice men.  They were abusers and, really, no one wants them found.  But, mysteries must be solved.

This really is a page turner and if I hadn't been so involvled in playing slot games, I'd have finished it much sooner.

Then I ran out of coins!

So, I started Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver and couldn't put it down. This is the second in a trilogy and was even better than the first book. 

Lena has escaped from Portland,  Maine to avoid being cured from deliria (or Love) but her lover, Alex, got shot in the process.  Now, she is on her own in the Wilds.  She must create a new life without Alex. 

She becomes a member of the Resistance and disguises herself as a normal, cured, schoolgirl.  Her mission is to follow Julian, the son of an ardent supporter of the cure.  Julian is just hours away from his procedure.

I don't want to give too much away.  Suffice it to say that I read this book in two days.  And I won't even mention the ending...WOW!

Lone Wolf

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to her books.  Sadly, this one was a disappointment.  Why?  I don't know...it just doesn't have the word magic I know she is capable of.

The novel revolves around Luke Warren, a wolf expert.  He even abandoned his wife, children, and life to live in the wilds with wolves for over two years.

Now, though, he's lying in a hospital bed in a coma with severe, irreversible brain damage.  His estranged son, Edward, has flown home from Thailand to take charge against the wishes of his seventeen-year-old sister, Cara.

Honestly, I just didn't like the characters all that much.  Cara is pigheaded about her father and won't listen to reason.  Edward is impulsive but it doesn't ring true.

The wolf sections were interesting and I learned alot about wolves, that's for sure, but, really, the rest was a big disappointment.

Night Swim

It's the early 70s.  You're sixteen years old and the mother you adore and idolize is suddenly gone. How do you cope?

Sarah is the second oldest and only girl of four children.  They live an easy life in a Boston suburb.  Sarah's parents are heavy socializers.  She observes their world from afar and when tragedy strikes, she tries to emulate the behavior of the adults with dire consequences.

I love the writing in this novel...gorgeous metaphors and similes.  The characters are human and likable.  Sarah could have been one of my high school students and I wanted to help her.

The Baker's Daughter

I'm on a roll!  Yes, another great book.  It's such a good feeling when I begin reading and get hooked immediately.  And this book did just that.

It flips back and forth between 1945 Germany and 2007 El Paso.  Reba Adams writes for a magazine and interviews Elsie Schmitt Meriwether.  Elsie runs a German bakery in Texas, taking after her father who also owned a bakery in Germany.  The novel takes us back to the last year of WWII.  Elsie is engaged to a German soldier but secretly hiding a Jewish boy under the eaves in her bedroom.

Reba's fiance, whose parents came from Mexico, now works for the border patrol and is having a difficult time following the rules and sending mothers and children back to the hopelessness they had been trying to escape in Mexico.

Reba, herself, is trying to put her past and her father's suicide behind her. 

The novel is told through several different characters and even some letters written to and from Elsie's sister who is part of the Lebensborn Program.  I had never heard of this program in which good Aryan girls allowed themselves to become pregnant by Aryan soldiers to further the race.

Lots of threads to this novel but it isn't confusing at all. 

The writing is fresh and filled with the aromas of German breads and pastries.  It's beautifully poetic.  Sarah McCoy's metaphors and similes are perfection.

The Descendents

I read many more books that are made into movies than I actually see the movies.  But I definitely want to see this movie...mainly because Shailene Woodley, who plays the part of the main character's recovering-addict daughter, is an amazing actress.  She's the star of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, a TV series I'm going through on Netflix.

I was also attracted to this novel because it's set in Hawaii and we spent a winter there about twenty years ago.  Just reading those Hawaiian names made me smile.

Matt King is a direct descendent of Hawaiian royalty and he has to make the painful decision of who to sell his inherited land to. 

He also has another heart-breaking decision to make.  His wife was in a boating accident and is lying in a coma.  He has to decide when to pull the plug.  In the mean time, he has to learn how to be a dad.  His wife had always done most of the parenting and, now, he must be a role model for his two daughters: Alex, learning how to live without drugs, and Scottie, his impressionable ten-year-old.

Great characters.  Great location.  Great plot.  I guess you can tell I loved this book!

Defending Jacob

How would you react if your child was accused of murder?

Andy Barber is an assistant district attorney.  He, his wife, Laurie, and fourteen-year-old son, Jake live in a Boston suburb.  One of Jake's classmates is brutally killed on his way to school and all the evidence points to Jacob.  He is arrested and his father puts all his efforts into defending him.

The reader is kept in the dark as to whether Jacob is quilty or innocent so it makes it easy to identify with his father, who will do anything to protect his son.  Unfortunately, his wife's emotions get lost in the process.

This is a disturbing novel but is compulsively readable.  I taught middle school for seventeen years so felt compassion for Jake who had been bullied by the boy who was killed.

I also have two kids of my own and a granddaugter.  Would I defend them as blindly as Andy Barber defended Jacob without any proof?

And how important is genetics in criminal behavior?  Andy's own father is in prison for murder.  Did Jacob inherit that gene?  Did Andy?  And does that matter at all?

This novel reads quickly but stays with you long after the last page. 

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Gosh, it feels good to be reading good books again! 

I fell in love with the title of this novel and then fell in love with the book.  Henry Lee is Chinese and has the proof; his father makes him wear an "I am Chinese" button.  It's 1942 in Seattle Washington.  Japanese are being evacuated to relocation camps.  Henry's best friend is Keiko, a Japanese classmate.

The novel flips back and forth between 1942 and 1986, when Henry, mourning the death of his wife, Ethel, sees on TV that the Panama Hotel has been sold and the new owner, in refurbishing it, has come across boxes and boxes of items hidden there by the Japanese before being relocated.  He looks for Keiko's things and opens the door to the past.

Beautifully written, this novel snatches your imagination right away and won't let go.  I loved it!

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party

Aaaaahhhhh, it feels so good to travel to Botswana, again! I've missed Mma Remotswe, Mr. JLB Matakoni, Mma Mikutsi, and all the rest of the characters in this series.

I've actually had this book for a while, now, but had to be in the right mood to read it.  And, last week was it.

In this edition, Mma Remotswe has to solve the mystery of who is cutting the legs off a man's cattle, Mma Mekutsi is preparing for her wedding to Phuti Radiphuti, and Charlie, the mechanic apprentice, must deal with the birth of twin sons.

As always, the writing is sweet and the comments about life are simple and make so much sense.

Private #1 Suspect

Another predictable read from James Patterson.  Jack Morgan owns Private, an investigative business.  After a trip he comes home to find his ex-girlfriend dead in his bed.  He's arrested for her murder and must spend the rest of the book trying to prove his innocence. 

There are a couple other plotlines running through, too, but none are very memorable. 

It's a good thing I decided to write about this book right away or I'd have forgotten about it entirely.

Somebody shoot me if I buy another James Patterson book, please!

Catching Up

Holy cow, I've been neglecting this blog!  My granddaughter ended up staying with us for almost a month and I didn't have much time to read with her around...except for her books.  We've been going through the Junie B. Jones series and read about ten of them.  Love that Junie B.!  Sometimes I get to laughing so hard, I can't read.

But she's gone, now, and I read a book in two days after she left.  But, first, Kill Alex Cross.  As is usual with a James Patterson book, this was a quick read.  I read it about a month and a half ago so don't remember it very well; his books tend to all blur!  I do remember that Alex must solve the disappearance of the President's two children.  There was another part to the plot that put Alex's family in danger, too.  Very typical but I do love his family.

I read good reviews about this book so downloaded it but, for some reason, I'm having a hard time finishing it.  Margo is left parent less and takes off on the river to find her mother.  She's a survivor and does what she has to do to make it through the winters which includes sleeping with whomever will protect her. 

It's beautifully written but I can't seem to feel too sorry for Margo.  I'm pretty sure I'll finish it just to find out what happens to her, though...one of these days!

I saw that this book is being made into a movie so thought I'd read it first.  It's a series of letters written by Kevin's mom to her divorced husband a couple years after Kevin murders several kids in his high school.  I love epistolary novels and, being a high school English teacher for 30 years, I also love stories about teenagers.

But, OMG!, Kevin's mom is so long winded!  It's a very tedious read and I might get through it some day.

I get emails from Amazon almost every day offering their best books and this one was touted as the best for January so I downloaded it....and devoured it!

Hazel and Augustus are teenagers who meet at a cancer support group.  Hazel has thyroid cancer with lung complications.  It is terminal but she is buying some time with a new drug.  Gus had his leg amputated and is doing really well.  They are both quirky and fall in love even though they know they are only going to get hurt.

This is a wonderfully-written book.  I gulped it!  Both main characters are likable and, yes, I blubbered at the end.

So, now, I'm not sure what to read.  I've got another James Patterson, Private #1 Suspect, and will probably go on to that one even though I'm getting pretty darn bored with his books. 

I miss my Kylie girl and our nightly Junie B. Jones visits!