Sometimes it’s so hard to pick my next book to read. I stumbled across this website that I intend to use the next time my pile of “next reads” dwindles. You can type in the name of a book you like or an author you enjoy and the website will create a web of books that you might like that are similar to the book or author you typed in. It reminds me of Pandora, which I listen to all the time!
Your Next Read July 2, 2010
Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross March 4, 2010
For a thousand years her existence has been denied. She is the legend that will not die–Pope Joan, the ninth-century woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter. Now in this riveting novel, Donna Woolfolk Cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept. from barnesandnoble.com
Great historical fiction. A fun read.
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian February 20, 2010
This novel kept me engaged till the very end. I could hardly put it down!
Book Summary
On an icy winter night in an isolated house in rural Vermont, a seasoned midwife named Sibyl Danforth takes desperate measures to save a baby’s life. She performs an emergency cesarean section on a mother she believes has died of a stroke. But what if Sibyl’s patient wasn’t dead–and Sibyl inadvertently killed her?
As Sibyl faces the antagonism of the law, the hostility of traditional doctors, and the accusations of her own conscience, Midwives engages, moves, and transfixes us as only the very best novels ever do.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls February 15, 2010
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
Synoposis:
Jeannette Walls’s memoir The Glass Castle was “nothing short of spectacular” (Entertainment Weekly). Now, in Half Broke Horses, she brings us the story of her grandmother, told in a first-person voice that is authentic, irresistible, and triumphant.
“Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did.” So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeannette Walls’s no nonsense, resourceful, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town — riding five hundred miles on her pony, alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car (“I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn’t need to be fed if they weren’t working, and they didn’t leave big piles of manure all over the place”) and fly a plane. And, with her husband Jim, she ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette’s memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle. from bookbrowse.com
The Glass Castle January 26, 2010
Synopsis
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town — and the family — Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents’ betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her ownstory. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor. from Barnesandnoble.com
——-
This book was an eye-opener for me. It is an unsentimental look at growing up in a hard and unstable world. The strong and brave spirit of these children was inspirational. I recommend it!
The Help by Kathryn Stockett January 18, 2010
My mother was raised in southern Mississippi but moved to Arkansas when she was 18 and has been here ever since. She occasionally talked about
the ladies that worked in her house and took care of her family. I’ve always felt that I was brought up juxtaposed to that culture, but never really understood it. After reading The Help, I understand the culture much better and I understand her better. I never thought of her as the baby growing up in that culture or a teenager coming into her own. This book has helped me see her from a different perspective. It was like getting to peer into her childhood.
Synopsis
Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town…
from http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Help/Kathryn-Stockett/e/9780399155345
My God October 15, 2009
What does it take for the creator of the universe to become My God?
When I was growing up, I remember people talking to large groups of us, and sharing their journey of faith, usually with horrible tales of drugs and sex. They generally concluded with the sentiment that after all of that, they realized that God was the only one who could save them, turned to him, and were completely committed to his kingdom. These were beautiful accounts of God reaching down and meeting people where they are and bringing them out of the muck and mire.
What about me? How would Jehovah, the Almighty One, become My God? I wondered if I would just wait around and slip into the pit, then I would have a story to tell. Then I could legitimize my faith. Then I could prove to people that he was My God. Where is my story of shock and awe? Would I ever have a faith that had merit? A faith worth sharing?
Do you remember the movie, Ghost? When someone died, they either were pulled down into the earth by a black cloud or lifted into the air by the light. It was pretty easy to tell what would happen to each person before they died depending on whether or not you liked their character. If you liked them, they went to the light, if you didn’t, they went to the dark.
That’s not how it works…We all deserve the black cloud. No one can be saved except by the blood of Jesus. I am a mess of sin without his saving blood, his saving grace.
In Genesis 28, Jacob has a dream of a stairway to heaven. Angels are ascending and descending from heaven. God is at the top. God tells Jacob that he will bless him, make his descendants numerous, and be with him wherever he goes. When he awakens, Jacob says, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God.
I haven’t had a vision, or a specific blessing about my offspring, but everything I have, from the clothes I wear to the food I eat to the house in which I live, comes from God. I have been given this promise,
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:31-32
and
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”[a] 6So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?” Heb. 13:5-6
Jacob announced that the God that had been Abraham’s God and Isaac’s God, was now his God. Jacob would depend on God for everything he needed – safety, shelter, food, clothes.
My God supplies my every need. He is my God. He will never leave me or forsake me. All that I have is his and comes from his outstretched hand.
He is my God.
My Sister’s Keeper August 21, 2009
Did you see the movie? I would love to know what you thought. I haven’t seen the movie, but I read the book. I couldn’t put it down. It has been a while since I couldn’t get a book off of my mind. I was drawn in from the very beginning. This is my first book of Jodi Picoult’s. It will not be my last!
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate — a life and a role that she has never challenged…until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister — and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.
My Sister’s Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child’s life, even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Is it worth trying to discover who you really are, if that quest makes you like yourself less? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? Once again, in My Sister’s Keeper, Jodi Picoult tackles a controversial real-life subject with grace, wisdom, and sensitivity. From Barnes and Noble
Books You Remember June 10, 2009
My friend, Stephanie, had a post this week on her blog, Pointed Meanderings, that challenged people to list 15 books that you remember in 15 minutes or less. I was surprised at what surfaced.
Write your list first and then read mine.
Here is my list:
- Gone with the Wind
- The Ladies’ No. 1 Detective Agency
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
- Mark of the Lion Series
- Nancy Drew Series
- Rascal
- Happy Holisters Series
- The Last Lecture
- At Home in Mitford
- Confessions of a Shopaholic
- The Poisonwood Bible
- The Giving Tree
- Hope for the Flowers
- Pippi Longstocking
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
This is like remembering old friends. Try it. It’s fun to bring back to mind these old friends.
I would love to see your lists. 15 minutes….15 books.
The Woman in White June 5, 2009
One of the greatest mystery thrillers ever written, Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White was a phenomenal bestseller in the 1860s, achieving even greater success than works by Dickens, Collins’s friend and mentor. Full of surprise, intrigue, and suspense, this vastly entertaining novel continues to enthrall readers today.
The story begins with an eeriemidnight encounter between artist Walter Hartright and a ghostly woman dressed all in white who seems desperate to share a dark secret. The next day Hartright, engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie and her half sister, tells his pupils about the strange events of the previous evening. Determined to learn all they can about the mysterious woman in white, the three soon find themselves drawn into a chilling vortex of crime, poison, kidnapping, and international intrigue.
Masterfully constructed, The Woman in White is dominated by two of the finest creations in all Victorian fiction—Marion Halcombe, dark, mannish, yet irresistibly fascinating, and Count Fosco, the sinister and flamboyant “Napoleon of Crime.” from Barnes and Noble website
This was a fun book to read. I recommend it, especially if you like the language of Victorian England.
