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

Julian's House by Judith Hawkes

Published as: Julian's House in November 1989

Publisher: Ticknor and Fields

Birth Name: Judith Hawkes

Born: 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee

Canonical Name: Judith Hawkes

Pseudonyms: None

Julian's House by Judith Hawkes was the one hundred and seventh book that I read in 2012. I have had this book on my TBR bookshelf since December 6, 2012. It took me three days to read this book and it is definitely a keeper for me.  

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anne Tyler - Ladder of Years

110. Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler (1995)
Length: 326 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 21 December 2012
Finished: 29 December 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 21 November 2008
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and Anne Tyler as an author. I also have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past. 

"Baltimore Woman Disappears During Family Vacation" declares the newspaper headline. Forty-year-old Cordelia Grinstead is last seen strolling along a Delaware beach, wearing nothing more than a bathing suit and carrying a beach tote with five hundred dollars tucked inside. To her husband, Sam and three almost-grown children, she has vanished without trace or reason. However, for Delia, who feels like a tiny gnat buzzing around the edge of her own family, "walking away from it all" is not a premeditated act but an impulse that will lead her into a new, exciting and unencumbered life. 

In a nearby town, Delia reinvents herself - getting her first job, finding her first place, and buying her first business suit. She becomes a serious and independent-minded woman with no ties. However, soon after Delia begins her exciting, unencumbered life, fresh responsibilities inevitably accumulate.

I really enjoyed this story. It drew me in completely and I was curious to see how the story would eventually turn out for all the characters. I give this book an A+! and look forward to reading more books by Anne Tyler.

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

May You All Have a Blessed Christmas!

Christmas MySpace Graphics

I have to be honest with you all, what with all the recent violence that has occurred in the past months, both Mareena and I have felt that Christmas sort of sneaked up on us this year. We both usually are filled with the holiday spirit for the entire month of December, but this year we were filled with intense sadness for all the families who lost loved ones in such horrible circumstances.

Added to that sadness, Mareena and I are both suffering terrible bouts of the flu. Because neither of us could sleep very well, we found ourselves up and about at 4:45 A. M. It was snowing rather heavily, but we were so incredibly happy to have a white Christmas - I don't believe that we had one last year - that we didn't really mind the snow falling.

We opened our gifts at about 5:30 A. M. Mareena asked if we could say a prayer for all the people that were killed in Connecticut and elsewhere before we opened our presents. We spent an hour opening our gifts and then went back to bed for a while. Between us, we received some really amazing gifts, and all in all we enjoyed a quiet Christmas together.

  Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Molly Cooper - Classic Mysteries: A Collection of Mind-Bending Masterpieces

109. Classic Mysteries: A Collection of Mind-Bending Masterpieces by Molly Cooper (1996)
Length: 128 pages
Genre: Short Story
Started: 17 December 2012
Finished: 20 December 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 12 December 2012
Why do I have it? I like short stories and Molly Cooper is a new author for me.

This is actually a collection of six contemporary mysteries compiled by Molly Cooper and featuring stories from such famous authors as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Anton Chekhov, Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe and others. I have to say that none of the short stories included in this book were particularly memorable to me - except perhaps the last story The Oblong Box by Edgar Allen Poe. 

This is a children's book that Mareena thought I might like to read, however it certainly wasn't what I was expecting. I give this book a B+! 

B+! - (89-85%)
 
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Nina Bawden - Kept in the Dark

108. Kept in the Dark by Nina Bawden (1982)
Length: 170 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 15 December 2012
Finished: 17 December 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 12 December 2012
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and had read and enjoyed The Ice House by the same author in the past.

Clara, Bosie and Noel don't really like the idea of having to live with grandparents they've never met. But Dad is in the hospital, and Mom has to stay near him. The children have nowhere else to stay. To make matters even worse, Grandfather is almost always angry and Grandmother dresses as though she were still a young actress. 

But when their half-cousin David appears, Clara, Noel and Bosie think life will improve. Even though they have never actually heard of David, he is young and seems like fun. Then they begin to notice that David is different - strange. One moment he's nice, and the next he's a bully. He says he is a genius but he acts like a child. And Grandfather and Grandmother seem to be afraid of him. Before long, the children realize they are trapped. David is keeping them all prisoners!

Overall, I think that I really enjoyed this book. For a children's book, it had just the right amount of mystery and menace, and was extremely well-written as well. It was perhaps wrapped up rather too simply for me, but it still kept me very much engaged and interested to find out what happened next. I give this book an A! and will continue looking for more books by Nina Bawden to read.

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Judith Hawkes - Julian's House: A Novel

107. Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes (1989)
Length: 381 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 11 December 2012
Finished: 15 December 2012
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 6 December 2012
Why do I have it? I like horror and I had read and enjoyed My Soul to Keep by the same author in the past.

Sally and David Curtiss knew that the old New England house that they had just moved into was rumored to be haunted. However, the newly wed couple of parapsychologists were not scared at all. They had bought the house willingly and planned on studying it in order to find any evidence of supernatural activity.

Sally and David have also planned to work on some recent problems in their marriage. Sally is a somewhat reluctant psychic, and David is secretly jealous of her abilities. He has never had any psychic experiences himself, but desperately wants to have such an experience.

All of the Curtiss' hi-tech equipment shows absolutely no sign of any supernatural activity, but David is still convinced that Sally senses something in the house. As the Curtiss' continue to research the the house's strange and mysterious history, they both begin to experience unusual dreams that reveal the Curtiss' hidden fears and desires.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. The horror built slowly but surely, and the book was very well-written in my opinion. I never actually figured out what form the haunting took. At times it seemed to me that it was primarily possession that was at work, and then it seemed that the house itself had developed a personality throughout the years that was an evil influence in itself.

If I did have one problem with the book, it was that I found that the ending was slightly rushed and a little bit of a let down for me. Overall though, I give Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes an A! I will definitely be keeping this book to read again at some point.

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Maeve Binchy - Echoes

106. Echoes by Maeve Binchy (1985)
Length: 494 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 4 December 2012
Finished: 11 December 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 June 2008
Why do I have it? I love Maeve Binchy as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Clare and David - divided as children by a rigid social code that branded her as shanty Irish and he as gentry class...brought together as adults by a passion that couldn't be denied. It was a desire that knew no class, no barriers, only the urgent hunger of two people destined to love and ready to defy any convention used by a world determined to keep them apart.

Even at fifteen, David Power knew eleven-year-old Clare O'Brien's dearest wish, to win a school prize. But it was years before Dr. Power's cherished only son recognized in the huckster's daughter his own heart's desire. Here in Castlebay, perched precariously on the seaside cliffs, the lines between them were clearly drawn. 

Clare's only hope is to leave the town where time stopped, propelled by scholarships to Dublin, fueled by her own drive and brilliance, far from the insular, gossipy world of Castlebay and those held in its thrall...Angela O'Hara - beautiful, insolated, a teacher trapped in the convent school, who risks everything to help Clare escape...Gerry Doyle, the town charmer who finds in Clare the woman he vows to have at any price...Caroline Nolan, the beautiful, rich outsider who comes to plunder.

For Clare, that was before the wild freedom of Dublin, and love. And David. Before fate drove them back to Castlebay, and the past. 

I truly enjoyed this book, as I usually do with any book by Maeve Binchy that I read. Reading Maeve Binchy's books, even rereading some of them, as this particular book Echoes was for me, is almost like returning to familiar places and visiting old but very familiar friends. I read Echoes for the first time maybe a decade to fifteen years ago and enjoyed this book then as well. I give this book an A+! and have placed it on my keeper bookshelf to enjoy again at some point in the very near future! 

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

Judith Hawkes - My Soul to Keep

105. My Soul to Keep by Judith Hawkes (1996)
Length: 416 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 30 November 2012
Finished: 3 December 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 9 October 2012
Why do I have it? I like horror and Judith Hawkes is a new author for me.

On a mountainside in Tennessee lies an abandoned quarry, flooded long ago by an underground river. There, in the gathering shadows of a winter twilight, something happened to nine-year-old Nan Lucas. Something that left her daredevil playmate, Tucker Wills, dead and young Nan's mind crippled, unable to recall the horror.

Now a trendy Manhattan fashion photographer, Nan Lucas returns to Tennessee twenty years later, seeking to recover from a collapsed marriage. In the old farmhouse inherited from her grandmother, she begins to reorder her priorities - among them, forming a more solid relationship with her young son, Stephen. Common sense tells her that the imaginary playmate who consumes so much of Stephen's time is only a normal invention for a little boy who has no companion his own age.

Yet Nan cannot ignore her mounting fears that the mysterious figure Stephen calls 'Woody' is both very real and very dangerous. Joining forces with an old mountain woman who is rumored to possess the gift of second sight, she struggles to save Stephen from the shadowy companion who seems to be compelling him toward destruction. Yet as hope and time runs out, Nan comes to realize that she must somehow pierce the veil of her forgotten past and reach into the dark recesses of her memory to rediscover what happened at the quarry, on the long-ago winter night that Tucker Wills died.

I must say that I absolutely loved this book. I thought that it was extremely scary - but it was the subtle, psychological type of horror that I really enjoy. Judith Hawkes is a new author to me, and My Soul to Keep is the first book of hers that I have read. I believe that Judith Hawkes has written at least two other books, and I have placed both of them on my Wish List. I give My Soul to Keep by Judith Hawkes an A+! 

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

Reading Wrap-up For November 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 November with 643 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 632 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from authors, Paperback Swap and Bookmooch.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Rereads
- The Manhood Ceremony by Ross Berliner
- Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Scrolls of Darkness by Paul Henry Johnson
- Nothing Lasts Forever by Sidney Sheldon
- Cold Kill: The True Story of a Murderous Love by Jack Olsen
- Black Coffee by Agatha Christie and Charles Osborne  
- The Goodbye Summer by Patricia Gaffney
- Sliver by Ira Levin
- Emma Hamilton by Norah Lofts 
- The Secret Hour by Luanne Rice
- Low Country by Anne Rivers Siddons

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton
- The Political Trial of Benjamin Franklin: A Prelude to the American Revolution by Kenneth Lawing Penegar
- The Captains' Airline: Pushing Back From the Brink by Art Samson
- Heartbreak Hotel by Anne Rivers Siddons

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Coroner by Thomas T. Noguchi, M. D. and Joseph DiMona
- Hannibal by Thomas Harris
- The Manhood Ceremony by Ross Berliner
- Spectre Nightmares and Visitations by Pamela K. Kinney
- The Crucible by Arthur Miller
- Scrolls of Darkness by Paul Henry Johnson
- Practical Fish Dishes by P3 Publishing
- Blood Memories by Barb Hendee
- Where River Turns to Sky by Gregg Kleiner

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

Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 3,479
Grade Range: A+! to A!

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

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

   
Emma Hamilton by Norah Lofts

Published as: Emma Hamilton in September 1978

Publisher: Coward, McCann and Geoghegan

Birth Name: Norah Robinson

Born: 27 August 1904 in Shipdham, Norfolk, England

Died: 10 September 1983 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England

Canonical Name: Norah Lofts

Pseudonyms: Juliet Astley and Peter Curtis

Emma Hamilton by Norah Lofts was the one hundred and second book that I read in 2012. I have had this book on my TBR bookshelf since April 16, 2012 although I didn't actually read it until November of 2012. It took me three days to read this book and it is definitely a keeper for me.  

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anne Rivers Siddons - Low Country

104. Low Country by Anne Rivers Siddons (1998)
Length: 461 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 26 November 2012
Finished: 29 November 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 27 October 2012
Why do I have it? I like Anne Rivers Siddons as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Caroline Venable is the quintessential Southern Belle. Her southern heritage has also afforded her money, prestige, a powerful husband - and a predictable routine of country club luncheons, cocktail parties and dinners hosting her husband's wealthy friends, clients and associates in his successful land-developing conglomerate.

To escape her stifling routine, Caro drinks a little too much. But her true solace is found in Peacock's Island - the Lowcountry island her beloved Grandaddy left her - an oasis of breathtaking beauty that is home to a herd of wild ponies. When Caro learns that her husband must develop the island or lose his business, she is devastated. Peacock's Island and the Lowcountry is Caro's heritage - and what will happen to the ponies whose wild spirit and freedom have captivated her since childhood?

Saving the island could cost Caroline more than she ever imagined. To succeed, she must confront the part of herself numbed by alcohol and careful avoidance - and shatter long-held ideals about her role in society, her marriage, and ultimately, herself.

I have to say that while I did enjoy reading this book, it was not really as captivating as I hoped that it might be for me. I thought that the plot was a little too contrived for my liking. I still enjoyed this book enough to give it an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Luanne Rice - The Secret Hour

103. The Secret Hour by Luanne Rice (2003)
Length: 335 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 23 November 2012
Finished: 26 November 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 20 July 2012
Why do I have it? I like Luanne Rice as an author and have read and enjoyed a couple of books by this author in the past. 

Beneath his calm and controlled demeanor, attorney John O'Rourke is a man whose life is in turmoil. Since his wife's death, he has been juggling the rigors of a controversial capital murder case and the demands of raising two children. Eleven-year-old Maggie's crooked bangs and rumpled clothes eloquently reproach John's earnest but haphazard attempts at mothering. Teddy, John's stalwart fourteen-year-old, has quietly assumed responsibilities that are far too weighty for his young shoulders, as he longs for the way things used to be and studiously tries to ignore the hostility that swirls around his family since his father took on the defense of a killer whose crimes have rocked Connecticut.

A brick thrown through the window one autumn morning signals a dangerous new level of hatred. But a quieter event also takes place that day. A woman arrives on the O'Rourke doorstep to find a household on the brink of chaos but brimming with love - and, she hopes, answers.

Kate Harris is searching for the key to her own mystery. Six months ago her younger sister fled far from their beloved home following a devastating confrontation. After mailing a single postcard from the New England shore, Willa Harris vanished. With only a postmark to go on, Kate takes a leave of absence from her job as a marine biologist to come to the seaside Willa adored - and discovers the one man who may be able to help her.

I found that this book was just alright with me - not my favorite book, but quite well-written in my opinion. There were the usual dramatic plot twists throughout the story, with a few eyebrow-raising coincidences along the way. It was still a very nice reading experience for me. The mystery was not all that believable to me, but that may just mean that I have become an extremely hard-bitten reader of mysteries. I think that I definitely want to continue reading Luanne Rice, however, I give The Secret Hour an A! 

A! - (90-95%)    


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Norah Lofts - Emma Hamilton

102. Emma Hamilton by Norah Lofts (1978)
Length: 192 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started: 19 November 2012
Finished: 22 November 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 16 April 2012
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.

Emma Hamilton was lover and confidante to some of the greatest men of her time. Born Amy Lyon, she was the daughter of a blacksmith near Cheshire, England. Her father died when she was two months old, and young Amy was raised by her mother, Mary, with no formal education. She gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Emma Carew, in 1781 when Emma was just sixteen years old. She then became a model for the English artist George Romney in 1782 under the name Emma Hart.

A woman of immense charm, kindness and ambition, Emma became the wife of Sir William Hamilton, the British Ambassador to Naples in 1791. She was twenty-six, her husband was sixty. Two years later, she met and fell in love with the darling of Britain - Horatio Nelson. During their subsequent seven year love affair, she gave birth to a daughter, Horatia, whose birth she managed to keep secret from Sir William and London society. 

After Horatio Nelson's death in 1805 during the Battle of Trafalgar, Emma fell into poverty, moved to France to escape her creditors, and later fell victim to alcoholism, dying of liver failure in 1815. Horatia Nelson eventually married a Reverend in 1822 and they had ten children. Although, Horatia acknowledged that she was the daughter of Horatio Nelson, she never publicly acknowledged being Emma Hamilton's daughter.

I loved this book. Before reading this book, I knew nothing about Lady Emma Hamilton's life, only that she was the mistress of Admiral Lord Nelson. I give Emma Hamilton an A+! and will put it on my keeper shelf to read again sometime soon.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Give Thanks For Your Many Blessings This Thanksgiving!

I hope that all my blog readers in the United States have a very happy Thanksgiving! May your Thanksgiving be filled with great food, wonderful friendship and all the family ties that you may wish for. :) I have to say that Mareena and I will not be having the usual Thanksgiving turkey today - it will be smoked ham for us all the way. After that, we will kick up our feet and read books for the entire day! :)

May all of you have a wonderfully safe and blessed Thanksgiving. Be sure to find some quiet time for yourselves and count your blessings today when and if you can. I know that I'm incredibly thankful for my continued health and happiness, my daughter's continued health and happiness, that we are both comfortable and love each other as much as we do, and that our family is as well as they are. We are also incredibly thankful for our three kitties - Ruby, Leila and Lollipop.

I also hope that everyone who is away from their families at this time, will know that they are sorely missed, truly loved and deeply appreciated by all! God bless all of you, may you have a very happy and wonderful Thanksgiving! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Ira Levin - Sliver

101. Sliver by Ira Levin (1991)
Length: 261 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 15 November 2012
Finished: 17 November 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 November 2007
Why do I have it? I like horror and have read and enjoyed Rosemary's Baby by the same author.

Kay Norris, a successful single lady of thirty-nine, moves into the posh Upper East Side district of Carnegie Hill in Manhattan. The building she moves into is a slender, silvery high rise full of exclusive apartments. The building's landlord is personable, if slightly obsessive, but very solicitous of his tenants' various comforts. Only after she moves in does Kay discover that the tabloids have nicknamed her building "The Horror High Rise". Four unexplained deaths have occurred during the building's construction, and a fifth one is about to happen...

I really enjoyed reading Silver by Ira Levin. It was a very intriguing story and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes horror. I think that I saw at least part of the movie that was made in 1993, and starred Sharon Stone and William Baldwin. In my opinion, the book was much better than the movie. I give Sliver by Ira Levin an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anne Rivers Siddons - Up Island

100. Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons (1997)
Length: 342 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 12 November 2012
Finished: 15 November 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 November 2012
Why do I have it? I like Anne Rivers Siddons as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Molly Bell Redwine has had the mantra 'family means everything' instilled in her from early childhood by her charismatic, demanding  mother. But in what seems like a single instant, Molly's world is tilted on its axis and she is shaken to her very core by the aftermath. When her husband of more than twenty years leaves her for a much younger woman, Molly's world crumbles around her. She is devastated to learn that the "Other Woman" has stepped in to Molly's life and essentially replaced her - moving into Molly's house, taking over her social position and earning the affection of Molly's son.

With the death of her domineering mother, Molly is truly set adrift in the world. Seeking refuge with a friend in Martha's Vineyard, Molly begins to search for her own identity. When her friend departs, she decides to stay in Martha's Vineyard by herself. Molly rents a small cottage, assuming the duties of caretaker for two cantankerous elderly women who share a haunting secret, the gravely ill and estranged son of one of those women, and a pair of territorial swans.

As Molly's stay on Martha's Vineyard widens the distance between her and her old life in Atlanta, she learns to let go of her outdated notions of family and becomes part of a different - but still very real - new family. As winter closes in on Martha's Vineyard, Molly struggles to nurture them and looks forward to a more hopeful future.

I really enjoyed reading Up Island. In my opinion, Anne Rivers Siddons is a truly great author - she really draws the reader into the story, and they are captured by a desire to know what happens next. I vaguely remember reading this book before several years ago, but  I couldn't really remember most of the plot, so it was like reading an entirely new book for me. I give Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons an A+! and will place it on my keeper shelf to read again.

A+! - (96-100%)
  

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Patricia Gaffney - The Goodbye Summer

99. The Goodbye Summer by Patricia Gaffney (2004)
Length: 389 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 8 November 2012
Finished: 12 November 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 November 2012
Why do I have it? I like Patricia Gaffney as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

How much can one summer change a person's life? For thirty-two year old Caddie Winger, one summer can make the whole world look different. A piano teacher who gives lessons to the neighborhood children, Caddie still lives with her grandmother and is extremely happy with her present life. 

Caddie's mother died when she was nine, and she was raised by her grandmother. Now, their roles are reversed, and it's Caddie who cares for her Nana. When her grandmother breaks her leg and insists on going into a convalescent home, Caddie finds herself being pulled out of her comfy, self-made nest. Living on her own for the first time since college, she uncovers some startling truths from her past.

Jolted, she looks at the world through new eyes and begins to take charge of her future. As she makes a new best friend, takes risks she never dreamed she could, and navigates the depths and shallows of true love and devastating heartbreak, Caddie learns how to trust other people and, ultimately, how to trust herself.

This is the third book by Patricia Gaffney that I've ever read, and I have truly enjoyed all three books that I've read. I loved the portrayal of the characters in The Goodbye Summer and have to say that this book was lovely to read. The Goodbye Summer by Patricia Gaffney is a definite five star read for me, and I'm certainly going to put it on my keeper bookshelf. Definitely an A+! book for me and I look forward to reading more from Patricia Gaffney very soon! :)

A+! - (96-100%)

   Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Agatha Christie and Charles Osborne - Black Coffee

98. Black Coffee by Agatha Christie (1930) and Charles Osborne (1997)
(Adapted from Agatha Christie's play of the same name)
The Hercule Poirot Series Book 6.5 
Length: 221 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 7 November 2012
Finished: 8 November 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 November 2012
Why do I have it? Mareena's friend Katie called me up some time in February of this year and we got to talking about Agatha Christie. Katie had me write down a whole long list of Agatha Christie books that she had read and enjoyed. Black Coffee was one title that Katie mentioned during our conversation. :) 

Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot and his friend and detecting partner Captain Arthur Hastings receive an urgent call for help from renowned physicist Sir Claud Amory. Sir Claud is absolutely convinced that a member of his own household is attempting to steal a secret formula created by Sir Claud, and destined for use by the Ministry of Defense. Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings travel to Sir Claud's sprawling mansion,  only to discover that the famed physicist has been poisoned by his after-dinner coffee. The formula is also missing.

Now, the renowned private detective must discover who among the mansion's occupants has become desperate enough to kill Sir Claud. Hercule Poirot uncovers a potent brew of despair, treachery, and deception as he tries to identify the murderer and locate the missing formula. Black Coffee by Agatha Christie was very good and I give it an A+! However, for the first time in reading an Agatha Christie mystery, I knew who the murderer was before I had finished reading the book. :)

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Jack Olsen - Cold Kill: The True Story of a Murderous Love

97. Cold Kill: The True Story of a Murderous Love by Jack Olsen (1987)
Length: 391 pages
Genre: True Crime
Started: 4 November 2012
Finished: 7 November 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 November 2007
Why do I have it? I like true crime but had never heard of the Cindy Campbell Ray and David West murder case.

In June of 1982, wealthy Houston attorney, James Campbell, and his wife Virginia were shot to death in their bed while their grandsons, ages seven and eight, camped out in sleeping bags at the foot of the Campbells' bed. The frustrated police shelve the case after about 30 months of investigation, claiming the case has gone cold. The murder victims' daughter and her husband hire a private investigator to continue the investigation.

Kim Paris, a young, free-spirited private investigator on her first major case, opens up a whole new area of investigation into the formerly cold case - turning up the heat on the prime suspect, Cindy Campbell Ray, James and Virginia's younger daughter. Close to two years after the murders, Kim locates and befriends David West, an ex-Marine and Cindy Campbell Ray's lover. He confesses to shooting Cindy's parents at her behest, mistakenly believing that James Campbell had been sexually molesting Cindy throughout her childhood, and that Virginia Campbell was physically abusing Cindy as well.

Cold Kill: The True Story of a Murderous Love by Jack Olsen is a somewhat unusual true-crime study, not because the case is ultimately solved by a private detective rather than the police, and not because the final disposition of the case is not included, but, rather, because of its searching psychological depiction of the killers. I also have Daddy's Girl: The Campbell Murder Case by Clifford Irving, which is another book about this case which covers the murder trial. However, I give Cold Kill: The True Story of a Murderous Love by Jack Olsen an A+!

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

Sidney Sheldon - Nothing Lasts Forever

96. Nothing Lasts Forever by Sidney Sheldon (1994)
Length: 398 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 3 November 2012
Finished: 4 November 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 20 July 2012
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Three female doctors begin five years in training at Embarcadero County Hospital in San Francisco. The story, set against hospital and courtroom, chronicles their lives together and their struggle against those who are determined to see that they don't succeed.

Dr. Paige Taylor - After she inherited a million dollars from a patient whom she 'helped to die' at their request, the District Attorney charged her with murder.

Dr. Kat Hunter - She vowed never to allow a man to get too close to her again...until she accepted the challenge of a deadly bet.

Dr. Honey Taft - To make it in medicine, she knew that she'd need something more then the brains God gave her.

From the life-and-death decisions faced in the operating room to the tension-packed fireworks of a murder trial, Nothing Lasts Forever by Sidney Sheldon lays bare the ambitions and fears of healers and killers, lovers and betrayers.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a wonderful page-turner that I couldn't put down! I do so enjoy Sidney Sheldon as an author, even though I have just recently got back into reading his books after an hiatus of several years. I give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Paul Henry Johnson - Scrolls of Darkness

95. Scrolls of Darkness by Paul Henry Johnson (2012)
Sons of Darkness Series Book 1
Length: 207 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 1 November 2012
Finished: 3 November 2012
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Paul for sending me a copy of this book to read.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 17 October 2012
Why do I have it? I like horror and Paul Henry Johnson is a new author for me.

Corporate attorney Brent Michaels has a good life in Century City - he's successful, good-looking, and well-respected. But he is also getting a little bored with the same old routine, and after a recent breakup, his personal life is in transition. Little does he know how drastically his life will change when he receives a letter from David Baumann, an old friend and former colleague of Brent's deceased - and estranged - father, who had been engaged in a mysterious and urgent archaeological search at the time of his death. From David, Brent learns about the Scrolls of Darkness - ancient satanic scripts written many millenniums ago, and now sought by the Sons of Darkness, an organization controlled by Evil itself.

Along with the beautiful Melauni Sherwood, an archaeologist familiar with the area where the scrolls are hidden, Brent is drawn into a deadly game that takes him from the streets of Paris to the beaches of New Zealand and Rio de Janeiro, and finally to the desert of the Middle East, where Brent and his companions will have a final showdown to determine who will get the ancient texts.

Mareena told me about this book and I was totally intrigued by the plot as she read it to me. When the book arrived in the mail, I was unable to start reading right away, but am so happy that I was able to read it in the rather short period of time that I did. I have to say that I probably wouldn't have chosen to read Scrolls of Darkness by Paul Henry Johnson for myself. Usually, I don't enjoy reading books that seem to be of the espionage-thriller type genre (as I had falsely assumed that this book fell into that genre), but Mareena chose well - as she usually does! :)

I really enjoyed Scrolls of Darkness by Paul Henry Johnson. It was a totally gripping plot and I was drawn into the book right from the first page. I believe that this book is the first in a series, and I am incredibly interested to find out where the story will go in future books. I give Scrolls of Darkness by Paul Henry Johnson an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Ross Berliner - The Manhood Ceremony

94. The Manhood Ceremony by Ross Berliner (1978)
Length: 282 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 31 October 2012
Finished: 1 November 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 15 December 2007
Why do I have it? I like horror and Ross Berliner is a new author for me.

Ricky Stern is a sweet, bright, happy, Jewish, handsomely blond 12-year-old when he is lured into the woods, abducted and raped by Arvis Moore, an homicidal, bearded, psychotic pervert  As the kidnapper and his victim travel from Virginia to Philadelphia, something changes inside Ricky - he begins to enjoy Arvis Moore's continuous molestation of him and passes up every chance of escape that comes his way. Because Ricky has become too pliant in his molestation, Arvis must kidnap another boy. 

Ricky turns from innocent victim to active participant, by acting as the lure in the kidnapping of another little boy. As the police close in on Arvis Moore, Ricky has turned into the person with all the power in this twisted relationship. He has become incredibly devious, manipulating Arvis and others around him in such a way, that it becomes increasingly more difficult to tell who is the victim and who is the perpetrator.

I have to say that while I enjoyed reading this book, I found The Manhood Ceremony by Ross Berliner to be incredibly devastating and disturbing to read because of the reality of the plot. This is a situation that could, and does happen to millions of children throughout America each year. I thought that the story was perhaps extremely dated in terms of the writing, however the plot was incredibly current in my opinion. This was a reread for me from many years ago, and I gave this book an A+! 

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up for October 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 October with 647 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 637 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from authors, Paperback Swap and Bookmooch.

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 :))
- The President's Lady: A Novel About Rachel and Andrew Jackson by Irving Stone
- Duplicate Keys by Jane Smiley
- The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright
- Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
- At Paradise Gate by Jane Smiley
- Margaret Trudeau: The Prime Minister's Runaway Wife by Felicity Cochrane
- Islands by Anne Rivers Siddons
- Spectre Nightmares and Visitations by Pamela K. Kinney
- Coroner by Thomas T. Noguchi, M. D. and Joseph DiMona
- Disobedience by Jane Hamilton

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- My Soul to Keep by Judith Hawkes
- Scrolls of Darkness by Paul Henry Johnson
- Haunted Richmond II by Pamela K. Kinney
- Haunted Virginia: Legends, Myths and True Tales by Pamela K. Kinney
- The Murder of King Tut: The Plot to Kill the Child King by James Patterson and Martin Dugard
- Low Country by Anne Rivers Siddons

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- A Whisper in the Attic by Gloria Murphy
- Scare Tactics by John Farris
- The Uncanny by Andrew Klavan
- 13 by Philip Loraine
- Shades of Souls Passed: True Accounts of Ghostly Encounters in Madison County, New York by Teresa R. Andrews
- Hawaii by James A. Michener
- Quentins by Maeve Binchy
- The Return Journey by Maeve Binchy
- My Beloved Son by Catherine Cookson
- The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney
- Sweet Everlasting by Patricia Gaffney
- Everlasting by Nancy Thayer
- The Secrets of Lake Success by Janet Quin-Harkin
- Inheritance by Judith Michael
- The President's Lady: A Novel About Rachel and Andrew Jackson by Irving Stone
- Where or When by Anita Shreve
- Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
- Master Builders of the Middle Ages by David Jacobs
- The Juror by George Dawes Green
- Blood Will Tell by Gary Cartwright
- Lullaby and Good Night by Vincent Bugliosi and William Stadiem
- Man With a Gun by Robert Daley

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

Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 2,684
Grade Range: A+! to A!

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

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

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

Published as: Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever in September 2011

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Birth Name: William James O'Reilly

Born: 10 September 1949 in New York, New York

Canonical Name: Bill O'Reilly

Pseudonyms: None

Birth Name: Martin Dugard

Born: 1 June 1961 in Maine

Canonical Name: Martin Dugard

Pseudonyms: None

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard was the eighty-seventh book that I read in 2012. I had had this ebook on my virtual TBR bookshelf since December 6, 2011 although I didn't actually read it until October of 2012. It took me three days to read this book and I purged the ebook after I had finished reading it on October 16, 2012.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Jane Hamilton - Disobedience

93. Disobedience by Jane Hamilton (2000)
Length: 273 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 29 October 2012
Finished: 31 October 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 27 October 2012
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and Jane Hamilton is a new author for me.

Henry Shaw is a high school senior who, at seventeen years old, is about as comfortable with his family as any teenager can be. His father, Kevin, teaches history with a decidedly socialist tinge at the Chicago private school Henry and his sister attend. His mother, Beth, who plays the piano in a group specializing in antique music, is a loving, attentive wife and parent. Henry even accepts the offbeat behavior of his thirteen-year-old sister, Elvira, who is obsessed with Civil War reenactments and insists on dressing in handmade Union uniforms at inopportune times.

When he stumbles on his mother's email account, however, Henry realizes that all is not as it seems. There, under the screen name Liza38, a name Henry innocently established for her, is undeniable evidence that his mother is having an affair with one Richard Polloco, a violin maker and unlikely paramour who nonetheless has a very appealing way with words and a romantic spirit that, in Henry's estimation, his father woefully lacks. 

Against his better judgement, Henry charts the progress of his mother's infatuation with Richard - her feelings of euphoria, of guilt, and of profound, touching confusion. His knowledge of Beth's secret life colors his own tentative explorations of love and sex with the ephemeral Lily, and casts a new light on the arguments - usually focused on Elvira - in which his parents routinely indulge. Over the course of his final year in high school, Henry observes each member of the family, trying to anticipate when they will find out about the infidelity and what that knowledge will mean to each of them. Henry's observations, set down a decade after that fateful year, are so much more than the "old story" that his mother deemed her affair to be.

I thought that this book was just okay - to my mind, the story could have been told more simply, without such intense focus being paid to Elvira's obsession about the Civil War. Disobedience by Jane Hamilton wasn't perhaps my favorite book of all time, but I am certainly still interested in reading more books by Jane Hamilton. I give Disobedience by Jane Hamilton an A!

A! - (90-95%)    

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Thomas T. Noguchi, M. D. and Joseph DiMona - Coroner

92. Coroner by Thomas T. Noguchi, M. D. and Joseph DiMona (1983)
Coroner Series Book 1
Length: 252 pages
Genre: True Crime
Started: 25 October 2012
Finished: 28 October 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 18 October 2012
Why do I have it? I like true crime and had read and enjoyed Coroner at Large by the same authors.

In Thomas T. Noguchi's memoir, Coroner, the former Chief Medical Examiner of Los Angeles County and the "coroner to the stars", reveals the full evidence behind the headline-making deaths of Robert F. Kennedy, Janis Joplin, Sharon Tate, Marilyn Monroe and others - the shocking and surprising facts can now be released in this stunning memoir.

I had wanted to read this book ever since reading the sequel back in September and was excited when I received this book in the mail last week. It was very interesting reading certainly, but I'm glad to have finished it when I did - I think that it was just a tad too long for me. Definitely not boring at all, just longer and a little more involved than I had expected the book would be when I first started it. I would certainly recommend Coroner to anyone who likes to read about true crime and give this book an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Pamela K. Kinney - Spectre Nightmares and Visitations

91. Spectre Nightmares and Visitations by Pamela K. Kinney (2010)
Length: 128 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 23 October 2012
Finished: 25 October 2012
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Pamela for sending me a copy of this book to read.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 19 October 2012
Why do I have it? I like horror and Pamela K. Kinney is a new author for me. 

We can be scared by many things. However, the most frightening things that we encounter are those that can infect our own nightmares and imaginations. Monsters from the closet or from another dimension, ghosts that haunt more than houses. Shapeshifters of every species and description, children can be stolen by more than the human kind of monster. Even the most normal circumstances can suddenly shift into times of the most heart-pounding terror.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I believe Pamela K. Kinney has an incredible imagination - there was a huge variety of horrors that she wrote about, they were not just the 'run-of-the-mill' horror stories. In my opinion, she is an emerging author to keep an eye on. I give Spectre Nightmares and Visitations by Pamela K. Kinney an A! and am looking forward to reading the two other books by Pamela K. Kinney that I have on my TBR pile.

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