WHAT ARE YOU READING? 7/16

Good Morning all you Readers out there.  It is so dry here in my area of WPA.  Seems like everyone around is getting some rain but not us.  I feel sorry for those that are having flooding when the farmers are worried about crops.

I am reading VICTIMS by Jonathan Kellerman.  Most times his books move right along but this one seems a little draggy.  Maybe it is just me.  Next I have THE INNOCENT by David Baldacci.  Not two days later the library called to say there were two books waiting for me.

Hoping everyone is enjoying their summer.  Can't believe that they are already advertising for back to school.

Everyone  have lots of good reading time this week.

Margaret

I just started HOUSE RULES by Jodi Picoult. I am liking it so far. I have only read one other book by her.

Have a nice week.

Tammy

Good Afternoon, Reading Pals ~ Thank you, Margaret, for being "johnny on the spot" and always getting us started every Sunday Morning. 

Hi, Micki, SpanishTeacher ~ saw that you popped in last week.  It's good to see you again.  Unless others are shy about mentioning the Fifty Shades series, you seem to be the only one who has read these erotica books.  My daughter read them, and came away feeling a bit dirty and shameful.  I'm too old to enjoy that kind of stuff anymore - no sense to it, since I don't have a partner to play in the sand with...

Tammy, most of Jodi's books are outstanding - you will enjoy HOUSE RULES.

TAG MAN by Archer Mayer is excellent, as are all the Joe Gunther books.  I highly recommend them, but start at the beginning - they stand alone but character and story lines are developed which gives the reader a greater appreciation of each story. 

Last week I reported that I was not enjoying DEFENDING JACOB, by William Landay, but I am continuing to read it.  I understand now why I am having a hard time with this book : I don't LIKE the main character, the narrator.  I think it is essential to have some degree of empathy or sympathy for the characters, to be able to understand their way of thinking, before one really enjoys a book.  Unless, of course, the main thrust is to dislike the character, but that isn't the case here.  I am reading it, but not with any degree of enthusiasm.

I just picked up CHASING MIDNIGHT  by Randy Wayne White, who lives here in Florida, near Sanibel and Captiva Islands, on the Gulf of Mexico.  He writes about a marine biologist, Doc Ford, who is also an undercover agent for a government agency so secretive that it has no official name.  He is surrounded by colorful characters, many of whom are loosley based on real people who live in that same area.  Fun read.

I must be getting old... or I should say, older.  Seems just about every time I sit down to read, I fall asleep.  Ergo, the number of books under my belt so far this year is not nearly what it has been in the past....  I'm only at 49, and to make it to 100 by the end of the year I will have a bit of catching up to do. 

Happy Reading, Everyone... 

Good Sunday aftrernoon from hot MN!

We are under a heat advisory for the next few days.  I am so thankful for our air conditioning.  Sometimes the little comforts in life get taken for granted.  Rain is badly needed if the corn and soybeans are to amount to anything.

I wrote a long post last Tuesday and when I checked back in on Thursday, the post had disappeared into cyberspace.  UGH!!

Last week I wrote about finishing a series called the 4 Lindas' by Melod Carlson.  A nice fun light read.

After that I started the series "Harmony" by Jodi Thomas.  Actually, I checked out the third in the series thinking it was a stand alone, and then when I figured wrong, ordered the other 3 to go with.  I'm on number 4 now. 

Also read SUMMERLAND by Elin Hilderbrand. 

Try to stay cool everyone and pray that when this heat breaks, it isn't with tornados or hail.

Marlene

As Marlene said, it is very hot here. We did get 1/2" of rain on Friday night, but it is very dry. I guess the corn farmers here are in a better situation than a lot of the country, but we need rain, even though we had record rainfall amounts in early June. It is awfully humid too. Tomorrow they say it will be near 100 again.

Beema, my personal goal for the past couple of years has been a book per week. I am on book # 53 now, so I am coasting. I read 63 in 2011. I too, seem to fall asleep often times, when I sit down to read. I am not much interested in Shade of Grey either, but who knows, maybe some day I will pick it up, but not too likely.

I am currently reading Hold Tight, by Harlan Coben. It is about a professional couple, wife is an attorney, husband is a doctor, whose 16 year old son becomes withdrawn from his family, after a friends sucide. They opt to put spy ware on his computer to see what he is up to. It is very fast paced, and I am 1/2 through after just starting it yesterday.

Next up for me is John  Sanford's newest Prey book,  Stolen Prey.   A friend stopped by the office on Friday to loan it to me. I know there a lot of people here that read the Prey novels, and I am sure I will like the latest book.

Good evening...I cant believe that back to school ads are showing either... come on folks it is just mid July... let the kids have some sort of break... and better yet... the teachers!  I have 9 library books checked out right now... 2 of which I have read before... but couldnt remember for sure when I checked them out... oh well... still have 7 more.  Checked out JAMES PATTERSON and DAVID ELLIS  .... GUILTY WIVES....about 4 socialite wives who go to Monte Carlo ..for the weekend, their husbands are working in Switzerland.... have to say I am 100 pages into the book and am going to quit.  It never seems to start.. at least for me. They have been accused of murdering several men on their girls escape weekend and are in a French jail in Paris.  Others may like it... I may go back to it later but for now... no, it is dragging. I cant believe that Patterson can write as many books as he has published either... ghost writer sure... but come on... he seems to have a new book out every few weeks. does he write any of them or just come up with the story line?

Started reading PERRI O'SHAUGHNESSY...... CASE OF LIES, about a female lawyer who works in Lake Tahoe, CA.... I have read her other books and she is always entertaining, for those of you who like legal suspense with a strong female lead I recommend her books.... she, actually 2 sisters, have written 10 other books and like others they are stand alone, but probably better if read in order to be able to follow re-occuring characters.

It was overcast last week and I was loving it. Started swimming at the local park... Sr. swim is daily for an hour and adult swim is for 2 hours 3 days a week.... what a delicious delight being able to swim, exercise and just be in cool water for an hour or 2 Monday - Friday... getting my exercise, staying cool and meeting people while 3 days a week being able to spend time with a friend "playing" in the pool.  Keep looking at the female lifeguards wondering where the body I had at their age went.  I keep asking when I will get i back.... I have been there 3 days... they told me the 4th day... well folks... that is Monday... cant wait for that body to reappear... it was a good one.... but didn't appreciate it when I had it.  Stay cool,  enjoy your books.

Started a new book that I got as a Nook "Free Fridays" special and I'm enjoying it: Meet the Annas: A Musical Novel by Robert Dunn. The Annas are a 60s "girl group" and the story is told by the songwriter who discovers them. Makes me want to go listen to some oldies music!

Happy Monday Readers,

I finished Defending Jacob and I really enjoyed it. Sorry you're not impressed, Beema.

Just started Nicholas Sparks Best of Me. No opinion yet, too soon.

listening to I'd Know you Anywhere by Laura Lippman and while the story is interesting, I'd like to shake the main character...if anyone else has read this book, perhaps you understand my thoughts??

Also just started Dunaways Crossing by Nancy Brandon. New to me author.

Hope everyone has a good week!

V-

I read Defending Jacob shortly after it came out and liked it.  But for me, if I wait a long time to read a book that many people say that they really like, I'm expecting it to be really great and am usually disappointed.

I read Sand in the Wind by Kathleen O'Neal Gear.  I've read quite a few books by her, her husband, and both her and her husband, Michael Gear.  Most of them deal with historic themes and they really do research their stuff.  Many of them are about Early Man, and this one was about a woman on a wagon train who has dreams about an Indian warrior...he has the same dreams about her.  According to the author, the main characters were fiction, but some of the other characters were actual people and some of the events actually took place. Usually these are pointed out by the author as an afterword or introduction.  I enjoy their writing.

Now I'm reading Eclipse, the third book of the Twilight series.  It's ok, I'm liking it better than the first two.

carole

I finished three books recently, SING YOU HOME by Jodi Picoult, THE HARBINGER by Jonathan Cahn, and VILLA MIRABELLA by Peter Pezzelli.  The first one, SING YOU HOME is a about a music therapist who goes through a rough divorce and the saga of miscarriages.  When she later finds love she becomes embroiled in a custody fight over she and her husbands embryos.  It was a well written book but I didn't think it was one of the authors best works.  It seemed a little unbelievable to me.  The second book, THE HARBINGER is a captivating book written by a Rabbi.  Before its end as a nation, there appeared in ancient Israel a series of specific omens and signs warning of destruction.  These same nine Harbingers are now manifesting in America with profound ramifications for America's future and end time prophecy.  I thought this was one of the most interesting and frightening books that I have read in a long time.  The revelations are so specific that even the most skeptical will find it hard to put down.  If you read this book you will never forget it.  The last book, VILLA MIRABELLA was about a wonderful Italian family who owns a bed and breakfast in Rhode Island.  When Jason Mirabella returns to his childhood home he only wants to stay there a short time before getting back on his feet.  His move to Los Angeles did not go well after a business deal he was involved in went sour.  Jason's widowed father, Giulio, is overjoyed to have him home though his siblings are less than thrilled.  Jason begins working for the B&B and slowly begins to carve out a place for himself there and rediscovers the  people and places he was so eager to leave behind.  When he meets a special young woman at Mass she opens his eyes to a wider world.  I adore this authors books and this one is a real gem.  It is such a warm, happy story and full of love.  My husband and I recently stayed at The Porter House Bed and Breakfast in Windsor, Colorado which was such a wonderful experience and had the best hosts and breakfasts imaginable.  This book reminded me of that Inn.  It's definitely a feel-good book.  Now I am reading CAGE OF STARS by Jacquelyn Mitchard which is so good it's difficult to put down.

Bluemooner -- The Harbinger does sound interesting. Is it non-fiction?

Also, I'd never heard of Peter Pezzelli but will be on the lookout for this author as well. Thanks!

bluimooner--Thanks for posting about The Harbinger and Villa Mirabella.  I put both of them on hold at the library. They both are so different but the descriptions of both really appeal to me.

emr--The Harbinger in non-fiction.

carole

I thiink I mentioned reading TICKLED TO DEATH by Joan Hess. Then I read DEADLY GIFT by Heather Graham. I am now close to the end of A MAN TO CALL MY OWN by Johanna Lindsey. These are all easy to read on a hot summer's day.

I finished HOME RULES and enjoyed it. I am passing it on today to a friend of my neices who lives here in Moab, UT. she is step mother to an autistic boy so she really wanted to read this.

Since I am on a roll with Jodi Picoult, I will read the other book by her that I have, HARVESTING THE HEART.

After that will be SWEET SEPTEMBER, by Tracy Goyer, a book by Guideposts in the Home to Heather Creek series.

I recently finished the Four Linda's series by Melody Carlson and realy lliked them, but then I always like Melody's books.

Tammy

On book 11 of Debbie Macombers Cedar Cove Series, love them.