A few quickies for y'all: Bill O'Reilly's fourth installment, Killing Patton, was great. Of all the historical figures, Gen. Patton was definitely the man I knew the least about. It wasn't as good as Killing Lincoln, but I liked it as much as the others. A worth picking up if you're a fan of O'Reilly's other books or a WWII fanatic. For this past book club we wanted something light and humorous, so we opted for the memoir Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling (of The Office and The Mindy Project TV fame). My thoughts? Meh. I really wanted to like it, but it's only okay. Mainly because her thoughts on apologizing for being fat and her body image. I would not consider her this and while she's trying to convince me she has good body image and doesn't care what others think, the fact she talks about it so much makes me think she does care. Also, this reads like a diary (and the editing it horrendous)... kind of seems pointless. As the other members agreed, it started off strong and then fell flat on its face.
My favorite audio book of late is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Fantastic! I really, really enjoyed the descriptive narration throughout, discussing her love of books, scenery, feelings...it's probably because I'm a librarian and a very visual person, but I felt right at home. But only at the beginning because then things get weird. In a good, mysterious, and entertaining kind of way. In a few sentences, it's about a woman, Margaret, who is hired to be the biographer of a famous ailing author, Vida Winter. Tasked with telling her life story, Margaret discovers Miss Winter's disturbing past. It did stall in a few places, but picked up again. I was quite enthralled with the story so I didn't mind too much. I found the secondary characters stole the show. It's darker than I was aware of when I picked up the book to read as part of a Good Reads' group book choice. Overall, I really liked the ending and all the mysteries swirling about. You must give your full attention to this one!
A few guilty pleasures: The Dandelion Field by Kathryn Springer. Loved, loved, loved this story! It's Christian fiction and I've become addicted and obsessed with this literature. It's a way to get my romance and fairy tale-like endings without the unnecessary bedroom scenes. Which is all I really care about anyway. The courting. The pursuing. The falling in love. All around God and faith. And this book really displayed how God will work sometimes. Always turning evil into something good. It's beautiful standing back and watching God work. And Dan is a sweetheart. This lovely romance is about firefighter Dan falling for the small town's newcomer and single mom, Ginevieve. But Ginevieve is dealing with her daughter's teenaged-pregnancy. It's rocky and passionate. But the ending. Gahhh I wanted to see more of the dialogue between them!!! The discussion questions in the back were a great addition, and I would love to start a Christian book club with this read.
In Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter, Madison is determined to sail in the regatta for her twin brother, whom she lost years ago in a drowning accident. The town rebel, Beckett, is the man charged with training and helping her accomplish this feat. But there are secrets being kept, hearts falling, and a lot of grace going around. This is definitely my kind of romantic fluff. My kind of guilty pleasure reading. I liked so much about it...the characters, the story line, the faith.... it was a quick read. The main male character, Beckett, was my favorite by far. I just couldn't help rooting for and liking him. Plus, I always love the small, farm town Midwest stories. Feels like home. I'll be reading the second one in this series very soon, I'm sure.
My favorite juvenile pick is A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd. It's been quite a long time since I've come across such a cute, sweet book for young youth. This is just too precious with a snicker of humor and a huge scoop of hope. Loved, loved, LOVED it! In short, it's about a 12-year-old girl, Felicity, who collects words and whose mother is sort of a gypsy (never staying in once place too long), and who finds herself back in her mother's hometown of Midnight Gulch, TN. There is quite the history to that little town and Felicity must discover how to bring back its magic. I was thinking about my favorite words the whole time I listened to it (the audio is an award winner). It's such a beautiful and quaint story, and the writing really places you in the middle of this small and magical town. And who doesn't like a book about magic, words, and ice cream?
With Love and God Bless,
Brindi
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