Number 5. Read 25 new books

Over the weekend I finished another book, The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells. Its the same author who wrote Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood which I've never read. The book was on a summer reading list from Real Simple magazine. It was pretty good, its about a girl from Louisiana growing up in the '60s and '70s who has to deal with with death, heart break, love, growing up and figuring out her life. I thought it was great, a nice summer read and would definitely recommend it.

Number 5. Read 25 new books

I finished another book last weekend, Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz. It's about a woman who finds out after her husband suddenly dies that he had been having affairs for most of their marriage. I know it sounds depressing but it was really good. It's a quick read and you tend to forget that it's a true story when you're reading. I definitely recommend it.

Number 5. Read 25 new books

As I mentioned in my last post, Amy lent me 4 books and I've read one so far. Right before she lent me the books I went on a requesting spree at the library and of course 3 books came in all at once. All of a sudden I had 7 books to read. So I put the ones Amy gave me to the side and dove into the library books so that I could have them back on time. I finished the Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe and absolutely loved it. I read it in 3 days and I lent it to my mom to read too. It's set in the early '90s and flashes back to the late 1600s and early 1700s during the Salem Witch Trials. A woman going to graduate school at Harvard spends the summer cleaning out her grandmothers house in Salem after she passes away. She finds a key with the name Deliverance Dane on it and then discovers there's a book written by her and she has to find it. If I go into too much detail it would give the story away but if you like historical fiction, a little drama and books about New England I highly recommend it.

Number 5. Read 25 new books

I'm rather behind on updating this. I've read 2 more books. Amy lent me 4 books back at the beginning of the month and I read one the very next day. Vinegar Hill by A. Manette Ansay, now I hate to critique a book that someone lent me since they obviously liked it enough to recommend it to someone but I just didn't really like it. It's set in the '70s about a women who lives with her husband, kids and in laws. Her family life is pretty crappy and it's overall a rather depressing book. That's not why I didn't like it, I can take depressing. I just thought the way it was written was a little confusing and I really didn't like the ending, it didn't come to a resolution really which bothers me. Oh well, I guess you can't like them all right?

Number 5. Read 25 Books

On Amy's advise I read "This is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper. It's about a guy who walks in on his wife cheating on him, his father dies and he has to sit Shiva with his somewhat crazy family for 7 days. I know it doesn't sound funny but it actually is. I liked it a lot, it's a quick read too so it's nice for a beach day.

Numer 5. Read 25 books

I read the last Dennis Lehane book, "Prayers for Rain" and at this point there's much more to say about his books. It was very good, similar theme and style as his other ones. On Amy's suggestion, I got "This is Where I Leave You" by Jonathan Tropper. If anyone has any more suggestions let me know!

Number 5. Read 25 Books

So I've finished book #2, Gone, Baby, Gone. Notice a theme here? I saw the movie a while ago and from what I remember of it the book is quite different, I actually liked the book better than the movie. I have one more Dennis Lehane book to go then I'm going to have to find a different author. Any suggestions?

Number 2. Join a Book Club

First item I can cross off, I joined the "20ish & 30ish Boston Book Club" through Meetup. I'm not really interested in the book for June so hopefully the July book will catch my attention and I can go to my first meeting. I'll let everyone know how the first book goes.

Number 5. Read 25 Books

One book down 24 to go. I finished Sacred by Dennis Lehane over the weekend. Its the 3rd book in his Kenzie/Genaro series. I read the first two on vacation and loved them so I'm continuing on with the last three. If you liked Gone, Baby, Gone which he also wrote, I highly recommend reading the whole series.