September'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. September's Book of the Month is: 

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Published as: My Cousin Rachel in January 1952

Publisher: The Reprint Society

Birth Name: Daphne du Maurier

Born: 13 May 1907 in London, England

Died: 19 April 1989 in Fowey, Cornwall, United Kindom

Canonical Name: Daphne du Maurier

Pseudonyms: None

My Cousin Rachel was the twenty-second book that I read in 2009. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since August 18, 2009 and it took me two days to read. This book is a definite keeper for me!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Grace Metalious - Peyton Place

23. Peyton Place by Grace Metalious (1956)
Peyton Place Series Book 1
Length: 424 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 20 September 2009
Finished: 30 September 2009
Where did it come from? Borrowed from the library
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 15 September 2009
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and had read this book years ago and enjoyed it.


I just finished reading Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. It was written in 1956, and considered very shocking for the day. It's about a small town with several shocking secrets like suicide, illegitimacy and death. I liked it very much and give it a B+!


B+! - (89-85%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Daphne du Maurier - My Cousin Rachel

22. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (1951)
Length: 288 pages
Genre: Historical Mystery
Started: 10 September 2009
Finished: 12 September 2009
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 18 August 2009
Why do I have it? I like Daphne du Maurier as an author and several books by this author on my TBR pile.

Orphaned from an early age, Phillip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. A confirmed bachelor, Ambrose delights instead in having Phillip as his heir, a man in whom Ambrose shares a kindred spirit - someone who will love his grand home just as much as Ambrose does himself. However, the cozy world the cousins have constructed together is shattered, when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries - and it is there he dies suddenly.

In almost no time at all, the new widow - Phillip's distant cousin Rachel - turns up in England. In spite of himself, Phillip is entranced by her beauty, drawn to this mysterious and sophisticated woman like a moth to a flame. And yet...might she be hiding a deadly secret of her own?

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Daphne du Maurier weaves a superbly Gothic mystery - one that is intriguing and suspenseful, and kept me guessing until the very end. I give My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Susan Howatch - Call in the Night

21. Call in the Night by Susan Howatch (1967)
Length: 239 pages 
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 6 September 2009
Finished: 10 September 2009
Where did it come from? Borrowed from the library
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 August 2009
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and do like Susan Howatch as an author

From halfway around the world, American Claire Sullivan jets to Paris on the basis of a desperate phone call that she received from her glamorous sister Gina. However, when she arrives, Gina is missing and her trail leads to a mysterious boyfriend, Garth Cooper now living in London with a secret to hide. As time passes, Claire begins to realize that Gina's sudden disappearance is not another one of her sister's harebrained stunts.

I usually enjoy Susan Howatch's books, but I think that this book was one of her weakest. I give this book a C!

C! - (70-75%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anita Shreve - Light on Snow

20. Light on Snow by Anita Shreve (2004)
Length: 304 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 2 September 2009
Finished: 5 September 2009
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 May 2009
Why do I have it? I like Anita Shreve as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.


I just finished reading Light on Snow by Anita Shreve. Twelve-year-old Nicky Dillon and her widowed father find an abandoned baby in the woods on a snowy winter's night in New Hampshire. This leads Nicky to question what makes a family, especially when an unexpected visitor - a young woman who's haunted by her own terrible choices - shows up at the Dillons door. The Dillons and their guests face many emotional decisions each of which could lead to heartbreak or redemption. I really liked this story; it's easy reading and a riveting storyline. I give it an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Norah Lofts - The House at Sunset

19. The House at Sunset by Norah Lofts (1962)
The Suffolk House Trilogy Book 3
Length: 366 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 28 August 2009
Finished: 1 September 2009
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 August 2009
Why do I have it? I like Norah Lofts as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.


I loved this story. It spans the mid-eighteenth century to the 1950s through the lives of seven owners of the house. This is the third book in the Suffolk House trilogy by Norah Lofts. I think that Norah Lofts is a wonderful writer and give this story an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up for August 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 August with 629 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 625 books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from Paperback Swap and a Library Book Sale that we went to on the 1st.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile 


Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Nickel Dreams: My Life by Tanya Tucker and Patsy Bale Cox
- Crown of Aloes by Norah Lofts
- The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
- The Woman Next Door by Barbara Delinsky

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! :))
- Call in the Night by Susan Howatch
- Firebird by Janice Graham
- Ireland by Mark Morris and Anthony Cassidy
- Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
- Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
- My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
- The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison by Pete Earley
- Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

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

Books Read: 4
Pages Read: 1,359
Grade Range: A+! to F!

So, there you go! The reading month that was August. 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