WHAT ARE YOU READING? 6/28

Good Morning all you readers out there.  It is a little dreary here this morning as we are expecting a little bit of rain.  Can't believe that we are already in the last week of June.  We are anticipating a cool, rainy week here in WPA.

I am almost finished reading VERY VALENTINE by Adriana Trigiani.  She is a new author to me.  She is the author of THE BIG STONE GAP SERIES and LUCIA,LUCIA.  This is the first of a trilogy.  You meet the Roncalli and Angellini families, vibrant cast of colorful characters who navigate tricky family dynamics with hilarity and brio, from magical Manhattan to the picturesque hills of bella Italia.  

Next up for me will be CEMETERY DANCE by Preston and Child.  This novel will bring my favorite character Pendergast back.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Margaret 

  Morning Margaret,

I have read a few by Adriana Trigiani:BIG STONE GAP, BIG CHERRY HOLLER , MILK GLASS MOON, HOME TO BIG STONE GAP. I thought they were good.

Have been in one of my reading slumps this past week, seemed nothing caught my fancy.

Last night I started IRELAND-Frank Delaney I think I will like it. I really like reading about England, Scotland, and Ireland.

We had a rainy, stormy Thursday and maybe a storm later today. Otherwise nice, humidity has been low.

Have a great week everyone and HAPPY 4th. Betty  

This week I finished Loving Frank and was blown away by the ending. I just passed the book along to my sister and know she will love it. This is becoming a trend - I choose books recommended on this thread, read them, and then pass them along to my sister. We are both thrilled with the choices - we just finished Plain Truth before Loving Frank. Keep those reviews coming so that I can put them on hold at the library.

Yesterday I picked up 3 books that were waiting for me at the library. I just started Lavender Morning by Jude Deveraux - also recommended on here, a nice and easy read. Next up is Nights in Rodanthe. The  third book is a Cooks Illustrated cookbook about cooking for 2. I read cookbooks like novels -lol - and sometimes try a recipe or two.

My ds and ddil are going to the beach for a week beginning July 4th. Ddil loves to read and was asking me ideas for some beach reading. I gave her 2 Joy Fielding books  that I enjoyed- See Jane Run and Whispers and Lies.

Good Morning Everyone!  The sun is out right now in South Jersey, and it is muggy.  MARGARET, I have been anxious to hear how you liked (or did not like) Fielding's STILL LIFE.  BETTY, if you like reading about England, Ireland, and Scotland, give GALWAY BAY a try.  This is by Mary Pat Kelly.  It starts out in Ireland and ends up in the USA.  I never read much about the famine and struggles, so this was an eye-opener for me.  Right now, I set everything aside to read TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN, Curtis Roosevelt.  This is a nice memoir by the grandson of Franklin and Eleanor with many interesting pictures from the thirties on.  Curtis Roosevelt is often seen on TV documentaries re the Roosevelts and/or The Depression.  Actually, he is the son of the Franklin and Eleanor's first child and only daughter, Anna Eleanor; but he took the name "Roosevelt" for several reasons.  Mary Kay

AVIDCOOK:  Our posts crossed in the mail.  When I saw my newly published post, yours was actually above it.  I always tell those who are reading LOVING FRANK that if they do not know much about his life, they should not research it until they have finished the book because of the way the story ends.  AVIDCOOK, IMHO you recommended two of Fielding's best when you recommended SEE JANE RUN and WHISPERS AND LIES to your Ddil.  A while ago, Fielding said SEE JANE RUN was her own personal favorite.  By the way, I have read several of Trigiani books and have enjoyed them.  Mary Kay

Mary Kay - I will have to tell you honestly that I thought STILL LIFE got a little long and was very melodramatic.  It was a good story just seemed to go on and on.

 Margaret

Well, MARGARET, though STILL LIFE was not Fielding's best, I still enjoyed it.  The premise, when you think about it, was quite simple; but it provided much suspense -- at least on my part.  Don't want to spoil it for potential readers, but it got suspenseful when she was being released from the hospital.  I just stopped cleaning my kitchen to sign on to see if you replied -- so I was glad to hear your views.  Back to the kitchen floors!  (What I like about Sundays, though, is how I can periodically "check in" to this site and read the many interesting posts.  Unfortunately, towards the end of each week the posts get slimmer.)  Mary Kay

I picked up a couple books at the library yesterday. Last night I started The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig. Next one up (for me) in her Pink Carnations series. Historical romance/chick-lit fluff -- just what I'm looking for right now!

The other one I got is Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer. I know it will be kind of creepy and probably depressing, but I'm still interested.

Good afternoon from hot, and humid East Tennessee.  We're supposed to get rain this afternoon.  Here's hoping.

I'm interested in the Big Stone Gap books you're writing about.  I only live about a 30 minute drive from Big Stone Gap.  I've seem interviews of the author in our local newspaper, but I've never read any of her books.  I know a lot of people from there since they come to our town to shop and some move here.

I just finished reading RUN FOR YOUR LIFE by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge.  A calculating murderer who calls himself The Teacher is taking on New York City.  There is only one man in the NYCP who can tackle such a high profile case:Detective Michael Bennett.  He already has ten children to care for; his wife died earlier of cancer.  I thought the book was one of his better books.

Earlier in the week, I finished one of those Jaine Austen mysteries by Laura Levine that are just fun to read.  This one was SHOES TO DIE FOR.  I think I've read about all of this series.  These are good if you want to laugh and enjoy a good read.

The year is half over; it went by so fast.  I guess that's the way it is when you get older.  Have a good week, and enjoy those books while you stay out of the heat.

Hi Grammy, If you like reading about the British Isles, you shpuld read M.C. Beaton. She has books about Agatha Raisin, a crazy detectivelady 7 Hamish Macbeth, a scottish decetive. All great fun. D.e Stevenson, my favorite author, wrote about Scotland & England back in war days but, lovely english village life. I thing you would like all of the above.

Good afternoon, everyone!

This weekend I read THE ART OF MENDING by Elizabeth Berg (a new-to-me author) and listened to THE NEIGHBOR by Lisa Gardner. I can definitely recommend them both.

Presently, I am reading AGATHA RAISIN AND THE VICIOUS VET by M.C. Beaton. I picked up this book at a library clear-out sale, along with four other Agatha Raisins I had not read. In the past few weeks, I have picked up over 70 books at the library clear-out and yard saling with my daughter. They are mostly paperbacks and all are mysteries. Best 18.00 I have ever spent. Many new-to-me authors.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Sherrill

Sallynana, I love D.E. Stevenson. Her books are hard to find now, but worth it. I really enjoyed her Mrs. Tim series, about the wife of a British army officer.

I just finished The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. I usually don't read this type of book but it was recommended and I finished it in two days. It was a story within a story.

The Gargoyle: the mesmerizing story of one man's descent into personal hell and his quest for salvation.

On a dark road in the middle of the night, a car plunges into a ravine. The driver survives the crash, but his injuries confine him to a hospital burn unit. There the mysterious Marianne Engel, a sculptress of grotesques, enters his life. She insists they were lovers in medieval Germany, when he was a mercenary and she was a scribe in the monastery of Engelthal. As she spins the story of their past lives together, the man's disbelief falters; soon, even the impossible can no longer be dismissed.

Go to amazon or b&n to find our more

LAGAR:  I did look up THE GARGOYLE on Amazon and was surprised to learn it is not supposed to be out until August.  How did you obtain a copy?  Mary Kay

I haven't posted here in awhile, but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading.  I just finished STILL LIFE by Joy Fielding.  I agree, it's not one of her best.  It dragged on and then bam it was done.  I'm hoping the next book I read is FingerLicken Fifteen by Janet Evanovich.  My bookclub shipped it last week along with the new one by Jeffrey Deaver.