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

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Published as: Rosemary's Baby in March 1967

Publisher: Random House

Birth Name: Ira Levin

Born: 27 August 1929 in The Bronx, New York City, New York
Died: 12 November 2007 in Manhattan, New York City, New York

Canonical Name: Ira Levin

Pseudonyms: None

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin was the thirty-ninth book that I read in 2011. I picked this book up from a Library Book Sale that Mareena and I went to in July of 2011. This book took me three days to read and it is a definite keeper for me! Mareena and I have both seen the movie Rosemary's Baby starring Mia Farrow - separately, and together - but neither one of us had actually read the book until I acquired it in July of 2011.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Lois Battle - Bed and Breakfast

41. Bed and Breakfast by Lois Battle (1996)
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 20 July 2011
Finished: 30 July 2011
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 15 July 2011
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and Lois Battle is a new author for me.

In Beaufort, South Carolina, Josephine Tatternall - a military widow turned Bed and Breakfast proprietor - is playing bridge with four friends when she witnesses her best friend Peatsy's narrow brush with death. As everyone else around her sits frozen in shock, Josie retains the presence of mind to calmly yet quickly call for an ambulance. As Peatsy is rushed off to hospital, Josie further recalls that she had even wished the young lady who was the emergency dispatcher a very merry Christmas before she hung up the phone.

With Christmas just around the corner, Josie continues to ponder the strange feeling of calmness she felt in the midst of Peatsy's medical crisis. She comes to the conclusion that life is too short to hold grudges; and that to continue to let such grievances stand in the way of your family togetherness is detrimental. Josie determines that in the end, family means everything. This year, Josie resolves to invite her three grown daughters - the girls she raised so carefully, yet with such mixed results - back home for the holidays.

With her own special brand of Southern charm and a sharp-eyed wit, Lois Battle delivers her most entertaining and emotional novel to date. Skillfully employing an uncanny ear for Southern sensibility, the author masterfully paints a family portrait that is tender, poignant and yet gloriously flawed. Family secrets, old misunderstandings, and unspoken loyalties are played out amidst the heightened expectations of the Christmas season - which guarantees joy and tears alike. The upstairs/downstairs comedies of a Southern inn make a perfect backdrop for this portrait of a family in all its tender, touching, and flawed glory and a love story that comes as suddenly as sunshine after the rain.

I must say that I absolutely loved this book. In my opinion, it was a brilliantly written and poignant story - written with such tenderness and honesty that I could immediately relate to each of the characters. There was such a tremendous sense of empathy and understanding for this family's plight that shone throughout this story, that Lois Battle is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I would give this book a definite A+! and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Norah Lofts - The Lonely Furrow

40. The Lonely Furrow by Norah Lofts (1977)
The Sir Godfrey Tallboys Trilogy Book 3
Length: 308 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 23 July 2011
Finished: 28 July 2011
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 15 July 2011
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.

This is the third book of the Godfrey Tallboys trilogy, focusing on Sir Godfrey's and his lady's children - specifically Henry Tallboys, who, as the son of a knight,  has chosen to become a farmer. I did like this book, but this was the end of the trilogy and as such, focused quite a bit on the earlier books. I give it an A!


A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Ira Levin - Rosemary's Baby

39. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin (1967)
The Rosemary Series Book 1
Length: 245 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 19 July 2011
Finished: 22 July 2011
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 15 July 2011
Why do I have it? I like horror and Ira Levin is a new author for me.

Newlyweds Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse are absolutely delighted to be starting their new life together. They are so in love with each other, and have such hope for their future. The only issue which could possibly present any problems for such a loving couple is their desire to have a family: Rosemary has always wanted to be a mother, while Guy - a struggling actor - wants to wait until he is more established to have children.

Having recently moved to New York City, Rosemary and Guy are in the process of finding a place to live when an apartment suddenly becomes available in the exclusive building known as 'The Bramford'. Yet, despite hearing disturbing rumors of witchcraft and murder that are a part of the Bramford's turbulent history, the couple is heedless of such dire warnings and eagerly moves into the charming four-room apartment. All the residents of the Bramford are so warm and welcoming to them, that Rosemary is certain she and Guy will be happy living there. And, indeed, they are: Guy is soaring to prominence as a thespian, and Rosemary is ecstatic to learn that she is pregnant...

The couple who have perhaps been the most welcoming to them are Roman and Minnie Castevet: the elderly and eccentric husband and wife living across the hall. Although she secretly finds them both a tad strange and rather meddlesome, Rosemary can tell that Guy likes them...very much. So, she tries not to mind when he begins to spend an inordinate amount of time visiting with the Castevets...alone.

I must say that I absolutely loved reading this book. I found that this story was excellently crafted; the plot was a believable mixture of the realistic and the fantastic, in my opinion. The characters seemed to me to be quite ordinary people, and I think that is exactly what makes the story so frightening to read. I would give this book a definite A+! In this case the book is so much better than the movie.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Stephen B. Seager, M. D. - Breathe, Little Boy, Breathe!: An Emergency Room Doctor's Story

38. Breathe, Little Boy, Breathe!: An Emergency Room Doctor's Story by Stephen B. Seager, M. D. (1981)
Length: 195 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started: 14 July 2011
Finished: 18 July 2011
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 14 July 2011
Why do I have it? I had read and enjoyed Psychward by the same author.

This is the story of Dr. Seager's time as an emergency room doctor. It has funny and touching moments in it. I enjoyed this book very much, although I can see how others might not. It is very simple writing. I give this book an A! and look forward to his next book.

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Belva Plain - Harvest

37. Harvest by Belva Plain (1990)
The Werner Family Saga Book 4
Length: 409 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 6 July 2011
Finished: 11 July 2011
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 June 2011
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.

Iris and Theo Stern seem to have it all: a secure marriage, four lovely children and a beautiful house. But one outsider, Paul Werner, knew the secret that lay buried in the heart of the Sterns' happiness - a secret that could destroy everything. I enjoyed this book and give it an A+!


A+! - (96-100%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Philippa Carr - The Miracle at St. Bruno's

36. The Miracle at St. Bruno's by Philippa Carr (1972)
The Daughters of England Series Book 1
Length: 381 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 1 July 2011
Finished: 5 July 2011
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 June 2011
Why do I have it? I love historical fiction and Philippa Carr (or whichever pseudonym she uses) is one of my favorite authors.

"I was born in the September of 1523, nine months after the monks had discovered the child in the crib on that Christmas morning. My birth was, my father used to say, another miracle: He was not young at the time being forty years of age ... My mother, whose great pleasure was tending her gardens, called me Damask, after the rose which Dr. Linacre, the King's physician, had brought into England that year."

So begins the story narrated by Damask Farland, the daughter of an affluent lawyer whose considerable acreage adjoins the property of St. Bruno's Abbey. It is the story of a life inextricably enmeshed with that of Bruno - the mysterious child found in the abbey's creche on Christmas morning of 1522. So it was that Bruno came to be raised by the monks - becoming a man at once handsome and saintly, but also brooding and ominous, plagued by the secrets of his birth - secrets which slowly begin to encroach on the sanctuary of the majestic abbey that Bruno increasingly comes to dominate.

This is also the story of an engaging family, the Farlands, living during the reign of King Henry VIII. This is the story of a father wise enough to understand that his own happiness - as well as the happiness of his family - remained at the King's pleasure; a wife, twenty years his junior, and a daughter whose intelligence is constantly in conflict with the mesmerizing influence Bruno has over her and her destiny.    

While The Miracle at St. Bruno's is very much the story of Damask and Bruno, it is also the story of sixteenth-century England - an era of vicious corruption and deep tenderness, when periods of violent brutality follow a time of deep contentment, presided over by one of England's most fascinating monarchs, Henry VIII.

I must say that I enjoyed reading this book - as I do so many of Philippa Carr's books. I have always been interested in anything to do with Henry VIII, and found that Philippa Carr's writing was historically accurate. While I found the story to be a tad simplistic at times, I still enjoyed it very much. In my opinion, The Miracle at St. Bruno's by Philippa Carr definitely deserves an A!   

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Patrick Blindauer and Frank Longo - Crosswordoku

35. Crosswordoku by Patrick Blindauer and Frank Longo (2008)
Length: 128 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started: 2 May 2011
Finished: 2 July 2011
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 2 May 2011
Why do I have it? I am a crossword and sudoku puzzle fanatic and had no idea that my addiction could be combined! :)

In an effort to keep my mind sharp, I am always doing either sudoku puzzles or crossword puzzles. This is actually the first time that I've been able to solve both types of puzzles together all in one book.

I received this book from a used book swapping site and only one puzzle had been solved by the previous owner. I solved the remaining puzzles in about two months. I give this book an A+! and will certainly be looking for more of these types of puzzle books.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up for June 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 June with 652 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 649 books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from a library book sale we went to on the 1st to celebrate Mareena's birthday; I have bought books though the library book sale this month (50 cents for paperbacks, $1.00 for hardcovers. The money goes to help our library's upkeep and stocking some latest releases.) We generally try to go to the library once a month if we can.

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 :))
- Sanctuary by Nora Roberts
- The Attorney by Steve Martini
- Retribution by Jilliane Hoffman

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- Harvest by Belva Plain
- The Miracle at St. Bruno's by Philippa Carr


Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Fiction 100: An Anthology of Short Stories by James H. Pickering
- Resistance by Anita Shreve

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

Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 1,479
Grade Range: A! to B+!

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