A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

What an incredibly long, tedious and boring book. However, I can say that I see the historical significance this piece of literature provides. I found the tale of London with the peaceful lives was still unsettled with the poor doctor’s history. Paris of course was mayhem, as it was at the time. The French Revolution brought about human tragedy, as so many events do, but I can’t say that I would love to learn about them exclusively from this novel. I’m not sure I could make it to the end again. Overall, the story of love and loss and sacrifice is a beautiful one, I just wish Dickens had edited back a bit.

The Thin Man

Dashiell Hammett

What a great book. I have always loved the movie; original and sequels. That is what motivated me to try the book. I usually find I’ve read the book well before a movie comes out, but it was a little different this time, having been born 46 years after the book’s publication. Although like most book-to-movie translations there were some changes, overall it was very close. I loved the sharp wit of Nick and Nora, however was slightly disappointed in the portrayal of Dorothy Wynant. A great read whether you like the movie or not, but it’s not that much different.

Kissing Christmas Goodbye

MC Beaton

Agatha is growing up! She has finally woken up to the selfish ways of James Lacey and Sir Charles. Although, I still think there could be something between she and Sir Charles. I am loving the development of the detective agency and the characters it has brought to the series. Another good one!

The Organist Wore Pumps

Mark Schweizer

Another great from Mark. My husband just hates that when I read these books, they are so funny I laugh out loud  reading in bed. Sorry. The ending was a bit weird to me. Was it Mark’s way of saying this is the end? I truly hope not.

With Friends Like These

Sally Koslow

At first, I thought the alternating first person chapters would be interesting, and in reality, found it to be a bit hard to follow. That said, the story of four friends finding each other, growing apart because of life’s demands, and then finding each other again was a rewarding one. It reminds us that life sometimes gets in the way of keeping everything the same. We need to grow and change as individuals, but we should work at keeping those friendships that keep us rooted to our cores.

Floating on Faith: The Story of Noah

David Boudreaux

Interesting. The author has taken the Genesis script of the story of Noah and the Flood and embellished it to create a novel. Beyond necessary if you ask me. He really didn’t go very deep. He wrote over and over that Noah prayed. Well, we could have guessed that because of all the people on the planet, he was the only one worthy in God’s eyes to be saved. Also, the writing becomes flat when he tries to incorporate information. It becomes encyclopedic; not interesting to read. Stick to the Bible in my opinion.

Unsolved Mysteries of American History

Paul Aron

As the title states the book is a compilation of events in American history that have remained unsolved. The premise of this book is to state the event and then provide the theories for cause and result. Some were well known and didn’t provide much insight while others were quite intriguing. There are several other titles in this series and I may check them out. This is a quick read of tidbits. Light and easy to digest history.

Thank You, Jeeves

PG Wodehouse

This is the first Wooster and Jeeves story that was book-long instead of chapter-long stories. That was a very nice twist. The story as usual was delightful. Jeeves has left Bertie, but that is just the beginning. Chaos ensues, as per norm, and who is there to put it all right? Your guess is as good as mine.

Giving to God

Mark Allen Powell

I read this as part of a task team at church. It was pretty good as stewardship centered books go. I’m guessing. I can’t say I’ve read many. This book puts giving our offering into a different context. We have a duty to support our church building’s on going needs. But anything we give beyond that is pure delight. We should remember that Jesus gave his life. We should also remember that God gives us everything. They have given their best and so should we.

When Did I Get Like This? : The Screamer, The Worrier, The Dinosaur-Chicken-Nugget Buyer & Other Mothers I Swore I’d Never Be

Amy Wilson

I nearly got rid of this book after the first page, but I couldn’t have the pleasure of throwing it away, being a lent copy from the library, so I soldiered on. It did get slightly better, but not much, or at least not enough to make it good. For a self proclaimed perfectionist to write a book about how her failures and slacking can be written off as good mothering is, I feel, irresponsible. She talks the entire book of giving her children juice instead of water. I wonder if she’s heard of milk?  She also berates herself for not taking the youngest of 3 to more Mommy and Me classes. Has she heard of one-on-one time. Read a damn book with your baby and talk to her. She’ll get just as much out of it. Several times throughout she mentions the fine line of breastfeeding. Apparently 12 months is mandatory or you are a bad mother, but anything over 1 year is coddling and inappropriate. She prides herself here in that she fed at least one of them for 11 months, and that she was a pro by number two. Big deal. I breast fed both of my children for 18 and 19 months and am proud of it. It’s a life choice. Make it and stick with it. You were made to do it, so don’t give me this bull that you just can’t. Humans would be extinct if as many mothers who said they couldn’t breast feed actually couldn’t. My biggest problem lies in that she wants to to understand that she supports breast feeding, yet repeats the phrase that going  beyond a year is inappropriate. It just isn’t so. I am a stay-at-home mom who volunteers approximately 10-12 hours outside of the home on a weekly basis and I find the time to buy milk instead of juice and cook something other than frozen chicken nuggets 3 times a week.  I’ll admit I have 2 to her 3 children, but I just thought that she needed her outlet as to why she’s lazy about her children. And, for some reason our culture has accepted it as NY Times Bestseller material. Travesty.