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

  Blessings by Belva Plain

Published as: Blessings in July 1989

Publisher: Dell 

Birth Name: Belva Offenberg

Born: 9 October 1915 in New York City, New York

Canonical Name: Belva Plain

Pseudonyms: None

Blessings by Belva Plain was the forty-sixth book that I read in 2010. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since March 1, 2009, although I gave away that original copy to Mareena's best friend on  August 1, 2010. Mareena reacquired another copy for me from Bookmooch and the reread took me five days. This book is definite keeper for me! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Norah Lofts - Bride of Moat House

48. Bride of Moat House by Norah Lofts (1959)
Length: 208 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 21 August 2010
Finished: 23 August 2010
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 4 April 2009
Why do I have it? I love Norah Lofts as an author and have read several books by this author in the past.


Richard Curwen met and fell madly in love with Antonia, and she with him. However, they both were penniless and too selfish to live like ordinary mortals. So, Richard married Antonia's frail, wealthy cousin Eloise who looked so much like Antonia that people couldn't tell them apart. Which was what Richard counted on. I liked this book by one of my favorite authors, however it's not my absolute favorite book by Norah Lofts. I give it an A!

A! - (90-95%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Karen Robards - The Midnight Hour

47. The Midnight Hour by Karen Robards (1999)
Length: 359 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 17 August 2010
Finished: 20 August 2010
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 August 2010
Why do I have it? I love contemporary mysteries and Karen Robards is a new author for me.

For Grace Hart, single mother and Family and Juvenile Court judge, solving other people's problems is easier than solving her own. Her daughter Jessica has just been diagnosed with diabetes, is struggling with maintaining the disease and Jessica begins sneaking out and experimenting with alcohol and drugs as well as running with a fast crowd. When the police are called for a break in at Grace's house that coincides with one of Jessica's sneak-outs, Detective Tony Marino clashes with Grace but eventually moves in to protect them from a still-at-large stalker. I liked this book but thought it was a little bit of an easy ending. I give it an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Belva Plain - Blessings

Re-read: Blessings by Belva Plain (1989)
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Originally Read: 10 March 2010
Re-read Finished: 16 August 2010
Where did it come from? Originally from a Library Book Sale, then from Bookmooch.

Mareena has told me that I had read this in March, but I don't remember it at all so since I had given away my original copy, Mareena found me another copy on Bookmooch. I still loved it the second time around.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Maeve Binchy - Heart and Soul

45. Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy (2008)
Length: 576 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 7 August 2010
Finished: 12 August 2010
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 29 March 2010
Why do I have it? I like Maeve Binchy as an author and have read several books by this author in the past.


Dr. Clara Casey has been offered the thankless job of establishing an underfunded heart clinic in Ireland. She has quite enough on her plate already with two difficult adult daughters and the unwanted attentions of her ex-husband, but she assembles a wonderfully diverse staff devoted to helping their often difficult patients. There is the infectiously cheerful nurse, the indispensable office manager who can't quite manage her own life, the young Polish girl who came to Ireland to escape a bad love affair, the young doctor who has a special touch with his patients and the physical therapist who takes on a different sort of therapy to deal with a stalker and the local priest.

Together they make the clinic an essential part of the community, and Clara must eventually decide whether or not to leave the heart clinic where lives are saved, courage is rewarded and humor and optimism triumph over greed and self-pity. I truly enjoyed this story and give it an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Belva Plain - Promises

44. Promises by Belva Plain (1996)
Length: 375 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 1 August 2010
Finished: 6 August 2010
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 August 2010
Why do I have it? I like Belva Plain as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Margaret Crane is a woman many others would envy. With her comfortable home, handsome husband, three beautiful children and rewarding teaching career, Margaret has the perfect life. She and Adam, her husband, have also raised an orphaned cousin, Nina, since her early childhood and she is now a sucessful young decorator in New York City. And yet...Adam is constantly working late at the office; long hours and too much stress Margaret attributes to rumors of a big company takeover as Adam draws away from her and his family. Then she meets Randi, The Other Woman.

Meanwhile, Nina is reveling in her life in New York City and her relationship with Keith, a brilliant investment banker who might not be all that he seems. As Nina clings to stolen weekends with Keith, Margaret plays the dutiful wife and tries to ignore the widening cracks in her marriage.

As both Margaret and Nina face heartbreaking choices in their lives, a rift develops between these two women who have loved each other like mother, daughter, friends. I truly enjoyed this book and give it an A+! 

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up for July 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 July with about 651 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 646 books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from a Library Book Sale we went to on the 1st and Bookmooch.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Re-reads
- A Paper Life by Tatum O'Neal

Changes to the TBR pile 


Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Quentins by Maeve Binchy
- The Day of the Storm by Rosamunde Pilcher
- A Secret Affair by Barbara Taylor Bradford
- Back When we Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- Elizabeth the Great: A Biography by Elizabeth Jenkins
- You Cannot be Serious by John McEnroe

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- A Lady in the Lake: A True Account of Death and Discovery in Lake Placid by George Christian Ortloff
- Santa Fe Rules by Stuart Woods
- The Blooding by Joseph Wambaugh
- Blood Shot by Sara Paretsky

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: 1,419
Grade Range: A+! to B+!

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