Book Review - Winter 2011

It is that time of year again.....
Book review from Jan 1 to March 31st.

Since the wedding is over and I am much more free time! I have been reading a ton. My to-read stack is getting smaller by the week.

A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Bulter - 1993 fiction Pulitzer Prize winner. It is a book of short stories primarily about Vietnamese. I like short stories, so this was fun book. Recommend.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave - set in England, which is fun, but the book is sort of depressing. It was an Amazon recommendation - I would skip it.

The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed - Won the 2009 Pultizer Prize in History. The book discusses the history of Thomas Jefferson and his second family with Sally Hemings. It is very well done and was interesting to learn more about our 3rd president. Recommend!

Island by Elin Hilderbrand - set on a small private island off of Nantucket, it follows the lives and relationships of a mother, her two daughters, and her sister. It was enjoyable and would be a great "beach" read for the summer! Recommend!!

Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson - a book about domestic violence set in Texas - not great. I really like Between Georgia by this author, but her latest books have become depressing. I guess when I read, I want to laugh not cry. Skip it.

Knit the Season by Kate Jacobs - part of the Friday Night Knitting Club series. If you have read these reviews before, you know I like book series. This is the latest installment in the growing lives of the Knitting Club. They are like old friends that you want to hear about their lives. I enjoyed the book and the series. Recommend!

Ironweed by William Kennedy - 1984 Pulitzer Prize fiction winner. Like most PP books, it ended with no conclusion. Skip it.

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, and Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer - So I finally jumped on the band-wagon for the Twilight books (finished all 4 in ~month!) They are very entertaining and I had a hard time putting them down. I understand why adult women like them - new extremely passionate love. Makes my heart melt. If you haven't read this series, you should! Highly Recommended!!

Cross Fire by James Patterson - The latest book in the Alex Cross series. It was great! The book ended with a teaser about Alex working Detective Boxer from San Francisco....excited to see the Women's Murder Club and Alex Cross series combine! Definitely Recommend!

Run for Your Life and Worst Case by James Patterson - books 2 and 3 in the Michael Bennett series. Murder mystery page turners. It is an okay series, but I like Alex Cross better.

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos - this is the book you should read before Belong to Me. Same characters, but describes how they met. Belong to Me is the future. I like books that continue with the lives of the characters. Both books were good and would be great for the beach. Recommend!