Tuesday, March 30, 2010

What I've been reading...

In commenting on a blog that I read, Beauty that Moves (http://beautythatmoves.typepad.com/beauty_that_moves/ check it out!) I wrote about some books that I 've been reading. It's actually just the tip of the iceberg!! So I thought I'd copy the reviews here and add a few more...

-Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman (excellent, had me laughing and crying out loud. A young girl from a dysfunctional familly goes to live with her great aunt in Savannah, Georgia. What a cast of characters!)
-The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (beautiful, lyrically written. And the food descriptions were fabulous. I didn't want it to end.)
-Blackout by Connie Willis (Sci-fi. Gripping and exciting BUT has a horrible clffhanger ending and the rest of the book isn't out until October 2010. Frustrating to say the least!)
-In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke (dark and haunting. What happens after a plague dessimates the population. What makes a family. I loved this book, although I didn't love the ending, because I felt that it ended too soon and stops short. I'm hoping Kasischke writes a sequel.)
-Balancing Acts by Zoe Fishman (Women and yoga. Need I say more. Nothing too deep here, but it was entertaining. Although I did find the dialogue a bit mundane and simplistic.)
-The Things that Keep us Here by Carla Buckley (Another dark novel set during an epidemic. Didn't love this one as much as Laura Kasischke's. Still, it was worth reading.)
-The Postmistress by Sarah Blake (I may be shot for this, since so many people really liked this book but I didn't love it. I couldn't seem to get invested in the characters and had to force myself to finish it. Interesting premise and the story itself was okay but all in all, the book left me cold.)
-Shanghai Girls by Lisa See ( I don't usually read alot of fiction set in Asia, but the book sounded interesting so I picked it up. Set just before the Japanese invasion of China and ending in the late 50's in America this book was really good. I learnt so much from it. And it was extremely well written. Loved it.)
-Good Things, Table Manners and The Sweet Life by Mia King ( I really liked these books. The first two are based on the same characters, so read Good Things first. Sort of fluffy, but good for reading when you want to lose yourself but don't want anything too heavy. I like the way these women pull themselves up by their bootstraps and change things in their lives. Inspirational in a way if that's what you're attempting to do in your own life.)
-The Girl who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen ( Just like her first book this one is set in a magical place that makes you wish you lived there. Her characters are quirky and interesting and she writes them in a way that you feel you know them. If you need some magic in your life, read this one and her other two as well.)
-Angels of Destruction by Keith Donahue (A little girl shows up at an elderly woman's house in the middle of a snowstorm. Who is she? Is she an angel? Really well written book. Intriguing concept. Illustrates the need for connection that we all feel. Loved this.)

That's it for now. Not because I haven't read any other books lately but because it's time that I get up and get some work done!!