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 Basement by Bari Wood

Published as: The Basement in May 1995

Publisher: William Morrow and Company

Birth Name: Bari Eve Wood

Born: 31 December 1946 in Jacksonville, Illinois

Canonical Name: Bari Wood

Pseudonyms: None

The Basement by Bari Wood was the fifty-third book that I read in 2014. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since December 1, 2009 - although the book was Mareena's 'just because' gift for December of 2009, because I had misplaced my first copy. The third reading of this book took me four days to finish. This book is a definite keeper for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Beryl Bainbridge - Watson's Apology: A Novel

57. Watson's Apology: A Novel by Beryl Bainbridge (1985)
Length: 222 pages
Genre: True Crime
Started: 25 May 2014
Finished: 31 May 2014
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 16 May 2014

Why do I have it? I like true crime and Beryl Bainbridge is a new author for me. 

In 1844 a middle-aged Irish spinster by the name of Anne Armstrong, gets the unexpected chance to escape her life of genteel poverty. An English schoolmaster, the Reverend John Selby Watson, a man whom she met briefly more than seven years before, and whom Anne has long since forgotten, appears suddenly with a proposal. While the Reverend Watson is certainly no Prince Charming, and his home is in no way a castle, life with him is seemingly so much more preferable to Anne's current living situation - that she accepts John's proposal. Thus begins a marriage that should never have been - where frustrations pile upon disillusionments until everything collapses in hatred and bloody violence. 

For, after nearly thirty years of marriage, the quiet, staid, rather ordinary Reverend Watson bludgeons his wife to death one Sunday after church. The seemingly customary history of the Watsons' unhappy marriage unfolds until it culminates in a sudden brutal act and a headline-grabbing trial. Staying as true to the documented facts of this historical case as she does to the workings of her singular imagination, Ms. Bainbridge artfully reveals what history withholds: the motives, the feelings, and the insanity that drive the Watsons to their domestic tragedy.

I did enjoy reading this book; although it seemed to me to be a little disjointed in places. Perhaps this was the impression that the author wanted to give the reader, I'm not really sure. However, I found this story to be incredibly sad - and although I usually enjoy reading tear-jerking stories - I think that the knowledge that this book was based on an actual murder case, was something that made this story almost too sad for me to read. I just felt incredibly sorry for all the characters involved, and the grinding hopelessness of the Watsons situation, as well as the historical period itself, really came through to me. I give Watson's Apology: A Novel by Beryl Bainbridge a definite A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Sudoku is a Puzzle, Isn't It?

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. On Thursday, May 22nd, I finished Spirit Lost: A Ghost Novel by Nancy Thayer. I immediately started reading The Merry-Hearted Boys: Liam Clancy, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem by Ron L. Leonard on Thursday, May 22nd. The author himself sent me a copy of this book to read.

So far, I'm not that far into the book - just far enough in to write a partial review, that it seems like it will be pretty good. But I really do need to read further. Anyway, on Sunday, May 25th, I started reading Watson's Apology: A Novel by Beryl Bainbridge; which was a 'just because' gift from Mareena for the month of May. So far, it's good - although perhaps a little disjointed.

I've also been doing a lot of crosswords and sudoku puzzles in between my reading.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Nancy Thayer - Spirit Lost: A Ghost Novel

56. Spirit Lost: A Ghost Novel by Nancy Thayer (1988)
Length: 199 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 21 May 2014
Finished: 22 May 2014
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 21 May 2014
Why do I have it? I like horror and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

An overachieving young married couple from Boston, John and his wife Willy decide to leave their hectic world of big-city advertising behind for the tranquility of island life. Thirty miles off the mainland, Nantucket offers the peace John needs to further explore his future as an artist. In fact, there is plenty of room for a studio in the old house they buy, located on historic Orange Street.

Legend has it that, from such a house as the Orange Street residence, whaling captains set off on their three or four-year long trips to the Orient, while their lonely wives waited, climbing to the "widow's walks" above the houses to search the horizon for returning ships. Often their husbands never returned.

So, John and Willy settle into their new life. They feel cozy and secure in their Orange Street house, surrounded by their antique furniture and sure of their love for each other. Even after eight years of marriage, their passion and devotion are still as strong - if not stronger - than when they first met.

Some of his friends wonder why John chose Willy, a solid, rather plain-looking woman. But Willy has never doubted her husband's love. She understands their deep commitment to each other and feels totally secure in her marriage. Fortunately, Willy inherited some money, so they can live comfortably while John paints and she does embroidery.

Everything should be perfect. They have each other, their beautiful home on Nantucket, and time to explore their talents in the serenity that Boston just couldn't offer. But something is terribly wrong. Willy senses that a mysterious force is at work that could destroy her happiness and all that she cherishes. With dawning horror, Willy fights the malevolent, unknown entity - gradually coming to an awareness of her opponent in what could be a battle not only for her marriage but for her very survival.

The plot of this book is entirely different from Nancy Thayer's later work, although the story was very well-written, in an easy style that I appreciated. The story was perhaps not as scary as I was expecting, but it was certainly eerie enough to still be enjoyable. I give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Patricia Gaffney - Circle of Three: A Novel

55. Circle of Three: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney (2000)
Length: 350 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 16 May 2014
Finished: 20 May 2014
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 June 2001
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and had read and enjoyed The Goodbye Summer by the same author in the past.

After the sudden death of her husband, Carrie struggles with feelings of immense grief and guilt. She silently wonders: "Can grief last for a person's whole life?" For her, these feelings are twofold: Although she mourns the loss of her husband, she also mourns the death of their love - an emotional erosion that occurred long before her husband's heart gave out. Struggling to go on, to support her vivacious, loving fifteen-year-old daughter, Ruth, Carrie must shake off the sorrow and depression that surrounds her and begin a new life. For Ruth, as much as for herself, Carrie will somehow learn to live again.

Complicating matters is Dana - Carrie's mother - an industrious, snobbish, yet sympathetic woman who tries to do what's right for herself and, unfortunately, for Carrie as well. It was fear of her mother's disapproval that drove Carrie away from her unforgotten first love - the soulful, passionate Jess - who has recently re-entered her life.

Little does Carrie realize that her mother suffers secret miseries of her own. For Dana, life is still as mysterious as it was in early youth. Like her only daughter, Dana has lived within the confines of a silent marriage. And, like Carrie, Dana too, mourns a painful loss - the slow disintegration of her relationship with her daughter. Her unspoken wish is: "I'd give anything for the closeness we used to have. I love my daughter more than anyone else on this earth, but she won't let me in." 

At the end point of these two generations is Ruth, who silently copes with a double tragedy of her own - the loss of something she can never know - a real relationship with her father - and the emotional abandonment of her mother. Her secret sadness is: "She's still got me, but she's about half the mother I used to have. When Dad died I lost him and part of her. I'm almost an orphan." A precocious girl, quivering on the brink of womanhood, Ruth is eager to discover who she is and what life holds - even if that knowledge will draw her away from the people she loves.

Shining through the interconnected lives of three generations of women in a small town in rural Virginia, this poignant, memorable novel reveals the layers of tradition and responsibility, commitment and passion these women share. Ms. Gaffney explores the dichotomies inherent in all women's relationships - the tears and laughter, despair and hope, misunderstanding and compassion, anger and love - that occasionally divide them yet ultimately bind them together. In Circle of Three, the silken bonds of family are brilliantly illuminated, as are the delicate yet resilient bonds of feminine understanding and friendship.

I absolutely loved this book. I truly became immersed in this story - it was definitely a page-turner; moving and poignant, filled with emotional, well-developed characters with whom I connected deeply. I found myself caught up in the story, wanting to know what happened next. I actually have read this book before - about ten years ago - and while the story was familiar to me in places, I still enjoyed reacquainting myself with these characters. I give Circle of Three: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)
 
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

'Puzzle Mania' Has Struck Again!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far. Since I finished When Satan Wore a Cross: The Shocking True Story of a Killer Priest by Fred Rosen on Tuesday, May 13th, I have been wondering what to read next. There have been several really interesting books that arrived in the mail for me over the past couple of days, but I just couldn't decide which one to begin reading! :) 

In the end, I chose Circle of Three: A Novel by Patricia Gaffney. I started reading this book yesterday afternoon, Friday, May 16th. It's a reread for me from perhaps a decade ago - a familiar story, but hazily so. I'm enjoying it very much. So far today, I've done two or three Sudoku puzzles and a jigsaw puzzle as well.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Fred Rosen - When Satan Wore a Cross: The Shocking True Story of a Killer Priest

54. When Satan Wore a Cross: The Shocking True Story of a Killer Priest by Fred Rosen (2007)
Length: 260 pages
Genre: True Crime
Started: 12 May 2014
Finished: 13 May 2014
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 12 May 2014
Why do I have it? I like true crime and Fred Rosen is a new author for me.

On Saturday, April 5, 1980 in Toledo, Ohio - on one of the holiest days of the Church calendar - the body of a nun was discovered in the sacristy of the hospital chapel. Seventy-one year old Sister Margaret Ann Pahl had been brutally murdered - strangled and stabbed, her body arranged in a shocking and shameful pose. But the police's most likely suspect was inexplicably released from custody and the investigation was quietly buried. Despite damning evidence, Father Gerald Robinson went free.

Twenty-three years later the priest's name resurfaced in connection with a bizarre case of satanic ritual and abuse. This prompted investigators to exhume the remains of Sister Margaret Ann to search for the incontrovertible proof that would indelibly mark Father Robinson as Sister Margaret Ann's killer: the sign of the Devil.

When Satan Wore a Cross is the shocking true story of official cover-ups, madness, murder and lies - and of an unholy human monster who disguised himself in holy garb.

I loved this book. The case was shocking to begin with, and I actually do remember when Gerald Robinson finally went on trial for Sister Margaret Ann's murder. Although, the television coverage that I watched certainly tamped down the satanic ritualistic element of the crime. This book was very clearly written, and I enjoyed the author's writing style - it was just detailed enough to be interesting, and not cluttered too much with technical jargon. I give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight