Tuesday, May 31, 2016

May's Book of the Month

 

Hello Everyone! I chose the picture posted above because it reminds me of reading to my daughter Mareena when she was little. Every afternoon until she was about eight or nine years old, we would take one of her books that she wanted to read or that she was reading and we would curl up together on my big bed. 

We would spend an hour or so reading a chapter of her book, and then take a nap together. Her absolutely favorite author at that time was an English author named Enid Blyton. Ahh, nice memories... 

My picks for 'Books of the Month' will be decidedly more adult these days, but they will be from almost any genre. May's Book of the Month is:


The Saving Graces: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney   
  Published as: The Saving Graces in June 1999
Publisher: Harper


Birth Name: Patricia Gaffney
Born: 27 December in Tampa, Florida

Canonical Name: Patricia Gaffney
Pseudonyms: None

The Saving Graces: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney was the twenty-seventh book that I read in 2016. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since November 5, 2000 and my reread of it took me five days to read. This book is definitely a keeper for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Monday, May 30, 2016

Today Has Been Pretty Much a Lazy Day For Me!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

Actually, today has been pretty quiet for me. I suppose that it wasn't because I was feeling sickly or anything, it just felt like I didn't want to do anything much. So, for the most part I have just spent the day relaxing; vegging out. The weather was very muggy and nothing was happening all day - all in all, it was a fairly blah day for me, today!

Although I haven't started reading anything else yet, I'm happy to say that I finished Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes on Saturday afternoon, May 28th! Also, in the evening hours of Saturday, May 28th, I actually finished the 1,000-piece 'The Yarmouth Yacht Club' jigsaw puzzle. Since I started doing this puzzle on Tuesday afternoon, May 24th, that means that it only took me four days to finish it for the second time. Not too bad!! :)

So, while I wasn't necessarily looking to finish another sum-doku puzzle book, that's exactly what I did today - Monday, May 30th! Since I actually started doing this puzzle book on Saturday afternoon, April 30th, it apparently took me just about a month to finish. This particular puzzle book was part of a six-pack that I received back on March 4th!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Judith Hawkes - Julian's House: A Novel

Reread. Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes (1989)
Length: 381 pages 
Genre: Horror 
Originally Read: 15 December 2012
Reread Finished: 28 May 2016
Where did it come from? Originally from Paperback Swap, then from my "keeper" shelf.

So, despite having posted two of these 'Review Revisited' reread posts this month, all four of the books that I've read so far are actually rereads for me. Although, I do hope to squeeze one more book in before the end of the month. 

I read Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes for the first time from December 11th, to December 15th, 2012. The first time that I read this book, I found it to be very, very good although slightly rushed towards the end. My reread took place over ten days in May of 2016 - from May 18th, to May 28th, 2016. In my opinion, the reread was still very good yet surprisingly slower than I was expecting it to be.

As I've said, I really enjoyed this book both times that I read it; but I think that I would be delighted to share it with someone else. I have since posted it on every book swapping website that we belong to. I think that someone else would really appreciate reading it as much as I did.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Friday, May 27, 2016

I May be Returning to Yarmouth For a Little While!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

For the most part, I've been doing sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper. This is in the  downtime that I have between finishing 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles, sum-doku puzzles and reading. I will grant you that I don't have that much so-called downtime, especially when I start doing the same jigsaw puzzle: 'The Yarmouth Yacht Club', almost twenty-four hours after I finished it the first time. Yes, I finished the jigsaw puzzle on Monday, May 23rd, and then immediately restarted it on Tuesday afternoon, May 24th!

As for my reading, I seem to be delving into a major number of rereads - not that I'm complaining! I'm currently reading Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes - which I had started on Wednesday afternoon, May 18th! This was actually another reread for me from approximately four and a half years ago. I read this book for the first time over four days in December of 2012 - from December 11th, to December 15th, 2012! Since I started my reread of this book on Wednesday afternoon, May 18th, I'm happy to say that I'm doing fairly well with my reading so far.

According to Goodreads, as of today - Friday, May 27th - I've read 324 pages of 400; or approximately 81 percent. Since my own copy of this book actually has 381 pages in it, reading 324 pages of the book means that I've read 85 percent of this book.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Jigsaw Puzzles Are Calling my Name Once Again!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

First of all, let me say that Mareena and I watched the 2016 horror movie The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund starring Lee Bane and Tiffany Ceri on Saturday afternoon, May 21st. The movie itself was allegedly based on a true story, and I will admit that it is very loosely based on that particular true story. Actually, while the movie was still quite good, in my opinion it became just the slightest bit far-fetched towards the end.

The true story behind the movie actually happened to 14-year-old Anna Ecklund - which is very likely a pseudonym - and apparently occurred in Earling, Iowa in 1928. Anna's case was apparently America's first famous exorcism, yet also one of the last exorcisms that was officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Despite the actual exorcism occurring in 1928, the movie adaptation seemed to take place in either the later 20th or early 21st century.

So, I also wanted to mention that on Saturday night, May 21st, I started doing one of my new jigsaw puzzles that I bought for myself on Thursday afternoon, May 19th! It's a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of 'The Yarmouth Yacht Club'. This definitely wasn't the easiest puzzle in my collection, but I'm slightly surprised that it only took me two days to finish. I eventually put the puzzle away on Monday, May 23rd!

As for my reading, I seem to be delving into a major number of rereads - not that I'm complaining! I'm currently reading Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes - which I had started on Wednesday afternoon, May 18th! This was actually another reread for me from approximately four and a half years ago. I read this book for the first time over four days in December of 2012 - from December 11th, to December 15th, 2012! Since I started my reread of this book on Wednesday afternoon, May 18th, I'm happy to say that I'm doing fairly well with my reading so far.

According to Goodreads, as of today - Tuesday, May 24th - I've read 200 pages of 400; or approximately 50 percent. Since my own copy of this book actually has 381 pages in it, reading 200 pages of the book means that I've read 52 percent of this book.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Saturday, May 21, 2016

I Think That it Deserves a Brief Mention...

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

First of all, let me say that after Mareena and I tried to watch our friend's borrowed DVD on Friday afternoon, May 13th and had problems with it, I may have leapt before I looked. Mareena had wanted to test another DVD in the DVD player, but I decided that we needed a whole new DVD player. As I've said before, Thursday afternoons are my usual day to run errands. However, I had some other errands to run that couldn't wait for Thursday, so I went on Monday.

So, on Monday afternoon, May 16th, I decided that I would get a new DVD player to replace the one that I thought was broken. Wow, did I ever rush to a conclusion: it was just our friend's wonky DVD! Mareena tested the DVD player on Tuesday morning, May 17th using one of our own DVDs, and the player worked just fine. The only thing that was wrong was that the DVD player's remote needed new batteries: which I found in the drawer in the hutch in my bedroom.

On my regular errand day - Thursday afternoon, May 19th - I returned the DVD player that I bought in haste, and decided to buy us both a little something to celebrate. For myself, I bought two jigsaw puzzles - actually, one was twelve jigsaw puzzles in one and another jigsaw puzzle; so I wound up getting myself thirteen puzzles all together. I got Mareena a new DVD - The Exorcism of Anna Ecklund - which is allegedly based on a true story.

As for my reading, The Saving Graces: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney was actually another reread for me from approximately ten to fifteen years ago. My reread of this book took place over five days in May - from May 13th, to May 18th! I immediately started reading Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes on Wednesday afternoon, May 18th!

Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes was actually another reread for me from approximately four and a half years ago. I read this book for the first time over four days in December of 2012 - from December 11th, to December 15th, 2012! Since I started my reread of this book on Wednesday afternoon, May 18th, I'm happy to say that I'm doing fairly well with my reading so far.

According to Goodreads, as of today - Saturday, May 21st - I've read 122 pages of 400; or approximately 30 percent. Since my own copy of this book actually has 381 pages in it, reading 122 pages of the book means that I've read 32 percent of this book.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Patricia Gaffney - The Saving Graces: A Novel

27. The Saving Graces: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney (1999)
Length: 394 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 13 May 2016
Finished: 18 May 2016
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 November 2000
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

For the past decade, four friends - Emma, Rudy, Lee, and Isabel - have shared an abidingly deep affection for each other that has kept them strong. Their friendship has helped them all deal with the ebb and flow of various expectations and disappointments commonly experienced by so many women. Calling themselves the 'Saving Graces', this quartet is united by understanding, honesty, and acceptance - interweaving bonds of familiarity that have only strengthened as the years go by...

Emma, a sharp-tongued, soft-hearted skeptic, doesn't believe in love - until she meets the one man she can never have. For her, the Saving Graces have become the fall-breakers extraordinaire. She firmly believes that, "bad news doesn't hurt as much if you hear it in good company."

A stunning beauty with an extraordinary capacity for love and a shaky, dysfunctional past, Rudy is desperately trying to hold on to her deeply troubled marriage. She has always viewed her friendship with the Saving Graces as truly life-affirming. She honestly has no idea where she would be without them all, although she freely acknowledges, "I don't know why my friends bother with me, I'm so high-maintenance. I would run if I saw me coming."

Lee, whom everyone else is certain is "the normal one", longs to have a child of her own. Yet her overwhelming desire for motherhood threatens to destroy an otherwise idyllic marriage. The Saving Graces are the sounding board on which she unburdens all her hopes and fears. She fears that her inability to have children will eventually become an obsession for her, "I know I'm consumed by our infertility, and that's not fair to Henry...He says I blame everything that's wrong with us, everything that's wrong with my whole life, on the fact that we can't have children."

Isabel, as the oldest member of the quartet, is a true survivor. Someone whose wisdom and strength were forged by her experiences of some of the worst trials life can possibly offer. Hers is the guidance and practical insight that propels and grounds the Saving Graces. Hers is the quiet, yet equally sustaining 'voice of reason' to which everyone listens.

Her view of the Saving Graces is profoundly simple: "We're all productive, tolerably sane, functioning adults, we Graces, with no more emotional baggage - well, except for Rudy - than you would expect in a random sampling of aging yuppie women. And yet our childhoods were disasters. Occasionally, we four play the intriguing 'What keeps us together?' game, and the fact that we all survived our childhoods is mentioned early and often."

Although these four sisters of the heart and soul have seen it all, as well as talked through it all; nothing can possibly prepare them for what comes next. Emma, Rudy, Lee, and Isabel will each face a crisis of such astounding proportions that the strength of the bonds of love, loyalty, courage, and friendship that these remarkable women share, will ultimately be tested like never before. Captivating from first page to last, this mesmerizing story illuminates the emotional links that define and join us together as women.

The Saving Graces: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney poignantly illustrates just how friendship sustains and enriches women's lives in unique ways - ways no romantic or family relationship ever can. Seen by many as a source of solace, support, and spiritual nourishment, friendship is a tie that powerfully connects women to each other in unforgettable, joyous, sometimes painful ways. While men, jobs, and crises may come and go, nothing lasts like true friendship.

This is actually the second time that I have read this book - the first time that I read it was approximately ten to fifteen years ago. I must say that I enjoyed it just as much the second time as I did when I first read the book. I have always found Ms. Gaffney's writing style to be highly evocative and tremendously sensitive to her audience. Her characterizations are always deeply grounded in reality; they are sympathetic, yet also very relatable in their respective reactions to certain situations.

I was completely immersed in the story in a relatively short period of time, and quite willingly lost myself in the story of these four remarkable women. I found the book hard to put down and was rooting for the Graces all the way through.  I would certainly give this book an A+! and will happily keep it to read again some time soon.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Sunday, May 15, 2016

After Much Deliberation, I've Finally Decided on Which Book I Want to Read!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

First of all, let me say that after choosing a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle to do on Tuesday afternoon, May 10th, I was amazed to finish the puzzle in only three days - on Friday afternoon, May 13th! Actually, while everyone else I've ever met tends to view Friday the Thirteenth as a date full of superstition, my mother was entirely different. She used to always tell her children - myself and my brother and sister - that if we ever forgot her birthday (which to be honest, we never actually did!) she wouldn't mind so long as we always, always did something to mark a Friday the Thirteenth! She absolutely loved Friday the Thirteenth - lol!

Actually, I think that the gremlins might have tried to fiddle with our DVD player on Friday afternoon, May 13th! Mareena and I tried to watch a movie that day, and about a quarter of the way through the DVD started skipping. The DVD player itself started clicking and whirring and making various ominous noises! We had borrowed the DVD from a friend of ours, so it might just be a defect in the movie - but Mareena wants to test another movie in our DVD player to make sure.

As for my reading, I must say that I've spent the past few days choosing a particular book to read. After I finished reading A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky on Saturday afternoon, May 7th, I picked up Dying Young by Marti Leimbach and started reading it the next day - Sunday evening, May 8th! Despite the fact that I usually enjoy reading extremely poignant books, I found that I just couldn't get into this book all that well. I decided to set the book aside for a while after reading it for a short period of time.

Next up, I chose a book that Mareena gave me for my 'just because' gift for May: Blind Date by Frances Fyfield. The book arrived in Saturday, May 7th's afternoon mail, although I actually started reading it on Monday afternoon, May 9th! Actually, on Tuesday afternoon, May 10th,  I ended up rereading all 11 pages that I had already read. So does that mean that I actually started reading Blind Date by Frances Fyfield on Tuesday afternoon, May 10th?

Anyway, I had to temporarily put aside Blind Date by Frances Fyfield in favor of a 'tried and true' favorite of mine: The Saving Graces: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney; which I started reading on Friday afternoon, May 13th! According to Goodreads, as of today - Sunday, May 15th - I have read 99 of 400 pages; or approximately 25 percent. Since my own copy of The Saving Graces: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney actually has 394 pages; then having read 99 pages means that I've read approximately 26 percent.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Thursday, May 12, 2016

It's my Seventh Blogiversary!

Thank You Images

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all having a wonderful day for yourselves! :) Yes, today is my Seventh Blogiversary! Seven Years?!?! Whoo Hoo. Party time! :)

I checked on an anniversary website and found out that the traditional gifts to celebrate seven years together is to give your partner something made of Wool or Copper. The more modern gift is to give your partner any kind of Desk Sets. The seventh anniversary gemstone is onyx, yellow sapphire or golden beryl, the anniversary colors are either yellow or off white, and the flower that you usually give your partner on your seventh anniversary together is Jack-in-the-Pulpit which can represent shelter, security and protection.


Jack-in-the-Pulpit (also known as the Bog Onion, Brown Dragon, Indian Turnip, American Wake Robin or Wild Turnip) is a clustered trifoliate plant that is frequently mistaken for Poison Ivy - especially before the flowers appear or the actual non-flowering plant. Care should also be taken to avoid confusion with Poison Ivy, which has three leaflets somewhat similar in appearance. Jack-in-the-Pulpit flowers from April to June, and the irregular clusters of flowers are usually greenish-yellow or sometimes fully green with purple or brownish stripes. The plant itself produces a berry-like fruit in late summer and fall which ripens from a smooth, shiny green to a brilliantly bright red just before the plant goes dormant. 

Jack-in-the-Pulpit also contains calcium oxalate crystals which can cause a powerful burning sensation and irritation of the mouth and digestive system; and on rare occasions the swelling of the mouth and throat can become severe enough to affect breathing. While the oxalic acid in the plant is poisonous if ingested, if it is properly prepared - dried and cooked - the plant can be eaten as a root vegetable. Preparations of the root were also reported to be used by the Native Americans to cure various ailments - sore eyes, rheumatism, bronchitis, and snake bites - as well as to induce sterility. 

Jack-in-the-Pulpit is native to eastern North America, occurring in moist woodlands and thickets from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, and south to southern Florida and Texas.


I just started reading Blind Date by Frances Fyfield on 10 May 2016. Despite having three very intriguing books floating around on my radar, I still can't seem to settle on which particular book I actually want to read. That being said, I've decided to highlight Blind Date by Frances Fyfield for my seventh blogiversary post.

Frances Fyfield (born 18 November 1948) is the pseudonym of Frances Hegarty, an English-born lawyer and crime-writer. Born and raised in Derbyshire - a county in the East Midlands area of England - Ms. Hegarty was educated primarily at convent schools until she chose to study English at Newcastle University. Upon graduation, she took a course in criminal law - initially working for the Metropolitan Police and then later for the Crown Prosecution Service. She claims that after dealing for so long with criminal law, she turned to writing as a means of escape: 
"After a long diet of criminal law, including dangerous dogs, rape, mayhem and much, much murder, the indigestion of pity and fury provoked me to write. I wanted to write romance, but the domestically macabre always got in the way."
She has won several awards, including the Crime Writers' Association Duncan Lawrie Dagger (later renamed The Gold Dagger) for Blood From Stone in 2008 and the Silver Dagger for Deep Sleep. In addition, her novel, Safer Than Houses was nominated for the Duncan Lawrie Dagger in 2006. She also writes psychological thrillers under the name of Frances Hegarty, among them, The Playroom, Half Light and Let's Dance, which was published in 1995.

Her novels have been translated into 14 languages. Several have been adapted for television. Ms. Fyfield's Helen West Series has twice been adapted for television. The 1999 television movie adaptation 'Trial by Fire', and a successful British television series which debuted in 2002.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Jigsaw Puzzles Are my Weakness...Among Many Other Things!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

First of all, let me say that Mareena and I tuned in on Sunday night, May 8th to watch the series finale of 'The Good Wife'. I'll admit that the last scene came as a shock to both of us, but it certainly seemed appropriate anyway due to the heightened emotions of the moment. We have watched the series from the beginning - although, we have missed out on some episodes - and we felt that we needed to see Alicia through until the very end. It certainly was a satisfactory way to wrap up the series, in my opinion.

I have also been doing sudoku puzzles intermittently, along with my usual crosswords and sum-doku puzzles. Unfortunately, I can't say that I've finished another entire puzzle book but I'm working on it! LOL! Anyway, I've decided to start doing another jigsaw puzzle; this one is a 1,000-piece puzzle featuring sailboats sailing towards a lighthouse. Since the last time I finished a jigsaw puzzle was on Sunday night, March 13th, I figured that it was about time that I started another one.

As for my reading, I finished reading A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky on Saturday afternoon, May 7th! Since I had started reading the book on Monday night, May 2nd, it only took me five days to read. I first read this book about ten to fifteen years ago, and absolutely loved it at that time. My reread was still very enjoyable, but I wasn't quite as blown away by the story this time around.

I'm not quite sure what I want to read next - although, I do have three books currently on my radar. The books are: Dying Young by Marti Leimbach; Blind Date by Frances Fyfield and The Saving Graces: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Barbara Delinsky - A Woman's Place

26. A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky (1997)
Length: 405 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 2 May 2016
Finished: 7 May 2016
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 14 August 2001
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Claire Raphael is a woman who has everything - two great children and a husband who she adores; a thriving part-time business and a hectic yet extremely happy life. She has built her wicker furniture business from the ground up - basically from nothing - and made that business successful through her own imagination, creativity and hard work. In fact, everything that Claire has, she has legitimately earned. On her own; through benefit of her hard work and, as such, thoroughly well-deserved.

Then, one evening, Claire returns from a particularly difficult business trip and is utterly blindsided. Dennis - her seemingly loving husband - hands her divorce papers along with an order to vacate their house; effective immediately. He also wants sole custody of the children. He tells Claire that this is all for the best.

Claire is devastated by Dennis' actions. She had always believed that even though they may have had their issues, the marriage was still strong. She had absolutely no inkling that her marriage was so close to the brink of disaster; nor any clue that Dennis could possibly be so devious. He was obviously planning this ambush for weeks, if not months - Claire is certain of her suspicions.

She has no idea just how quickly her happy but hectic life will change; how fast everything she has worked so hard for will come crumbling down around her. Claire doesn't know what to do; where to turn or who to trust. Yet, over the next few weeks, Claire will discover something about herself: when everything she values is threatened, a woman is as tough as she needs to be.

First of all, let me say that this was a reread for me from approximately ten to fifteen years ago. I absolutely loved this book back then; I always enjoy reading stories about strong women dealing with difficult situations. Although I still enjoyed reading this book very much, I must admit that I didn't find it quite as good as the first time around.

I can't really put my finger on what was different about the story, but I did notice that the plot seemed slightly forced or stilted; at least in my opinion. I would still give this book an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Apparently, Rereads Are the Order of my Day!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

Things are going fairly well for me - at least, I believe so. After I completed my last sum-doku puzzle book on Friday, April 29th, I went looking for another puzzle book to do. I don't know how it happened, but the puzzle book that I picked up had already been completed. I'm not usually in the habit of keeping puzzle books that I have recently finished; but there it was, lying in the basket where I keep all my number puzzles.

Anyway since then, I started in on a fresh puzzle book on Saturday afternoon, April 30th! This particular puzzle book came from my most recently received collection of books that came on Friday afternoon, March 4th! I'm only five to seven pages into the puzzle book so far.

As for my reading, I finished reading A Friend of the Family: A Novel by Lauren Grodstein on Monday morning, May 2nd! Since I had started reading the book on Thursday morning, April 28th, it took me five days to read. Despite the fact that I actually really enjoyed reading this book, I must admit that I was slightly surprised that it took me so long to read. Especially since the first time I read the book - in July of 2013 - it only took me two days.

So, on Monday night, May 2nd, I started reading A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky. Actually, I think that I first read this book about ten to fifteen years ago; perhaps even closer to twenty years ago and I loved the story. According to Goodreads, as of today - Wednesday, May 4th - I'm on page 122 of 416; or approximately 29 percent into the story. Since my copy of A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky actually has 405 pages in it, having read 122 pages means that I've read approximately 30 percent of the story.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Monday, May 2, 2016

Lauren Grodstein - A Friend of the Family: A Novel

Reread. A Friend of the Family: A Novel by Lauren Grodstein (2009)
Length: 302 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Originally Read: 20 July 2013
Reread Finished: 2 May 2016
Where did it come from? Originally from a Library Book Sale, then from my "keeper" shelf.

First of all, let me say that I actually wasn't really looking to reread quite so many books from my collection. I was just looking for one particular book to reread: My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. Since I still haven't been able to locate the book, I have just been reading books that seem intriguing to me - and those books just happen to be books that I have read before.

I actually acquired this book at a Library Book Sale that Mareena and I went to in June of 2013. We always go to our local library every June to celebrate Mareena's birthday. I read this book for the first time over two days in July of 2013 - from July 18th, to July 20th, 2013. My reread of the book took place approximately two and a half years later - from April 28th, to May 2nd, 2016.

I'm not really sure how I managed to spend five full days reading this book, especially after it only took me two days to read it the first time - but I must say that I still enjoyed reading the book anyway. I have since put this book back on my bookshelf to read again sometime in the future.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Reading Wrap-up For April at Moonshine and Rosefire


Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Rosefire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog. I originally posted my reviews over at my daughter's blog, Emeraldfire's Bookmark but am now in the process of transferring them all over to my own blog. My daughter makes blogging look like so much fun that I thought that I would try it out for myself! :)

Anyway, I started out April with 1,051 books lying around the house and ended the month with 1,046 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from Paperback Swap and Bookmooch.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile

Rereads
- A Paper Life by Tatum O'Neal
A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- The Return by Bentley Little
Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds and Dorian Hannaway
- The Language of Sisters: A Novel by Amy Hatvany

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- The Lady Elizabeth: A Novel by Alison Weir
- Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey by Alison Weir
- Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life by Alison Weir

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Capitol Murder: A Novel of Suspense by Phillip Margolin
- In Another Country by Susan Kenney
- 8 Sandpiper Way by Debbie Macomber
- A Density of Souls: A Novel by Christopher Rice
- Criminals: A Novel by Margot Livesey
- Saving Face and Other Stories by Norah Lofts
- An Unexpected Family by Joan Mendlicott
- A Paper Life by Tatum O'Neal
- Country Kitchen Collection: Fruit Basket by House Regency
- The Joshua Sequence by Frederick D. Huebner

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 5
Pages Read: 1,725
Grade Range: A+! to B+!

So, there you go! The reading month that was April. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight