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: 

   An American Love Story by Rona Jaffe

Published as: An American Love Story  in April 1990

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Birth Name: Rona Jaffe

Born: 12 June 1931 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York
Died: 30 December 2005 in London, England

Canonical Name: Rona Jaffe

Pseudonyms: None

An American Love Story by Rona Jaffe was the seventy-third book that I read in 2012. I had had this book on my TBR bookshelf since April 1, 2009 although I didn't actually read it until August 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

Rona Jaffe - An American Love Story

73. An American Love Story by Rona Jaffe (1990)
Length: 423 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 28 August 2012
Finished: 31 August 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 April 2009
Why do I have it? I had read and enjoyed Mazes and Monsters several years ago by the same author.

Clay Bowen is a successful Hollywood television producer with several cleverly disguised rehashes of established hits to his credit. He is also a self-centered, womanizing schemer who has been married to former prima ballerina, Laura Hays, for almost twenty years - although they have been separated for most of that time. Laura had retired from the dance world to have her daughter - the elusive and secretive Nina - then turned to drugs and developed an eating disorder. Clay, having been totally alienated by his wife's clinginess and drug addiction, begins a relationship with best-selling author, Susan Josephs, writer of a book on spousal abuse.

Throughout their 17 years together, Clay constantly demeans Susan - stealing the rights to her New York magazine cover stories, and eventually ousting her from his Beverly Hills bungalow in favor of Bambi Green, a young, hopeful television ingenue searching for her big break.

This book is the story of how the lives of these four women - Laura, Nina, Susan and Bambi - with all their dreams of love and success, are totally intertwined with a charismatic womanizer whom they all mistakenly believe they need in their lives. I really loved this book because it showed just how Clay's separate relationships with all his women worked, or were dysfunctional to them all. I give this book an A+! and look forward to reading another book by Rona Jaffe very soon.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anita Shreve - All He Ever Wanted

72. All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve (2003)
Length: 372 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 24 August 2012
Finished: 27 August 2012
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 17 August 2012
Why do I have it? I like Anita Shreve as an author and have read and enjoyed several of her books in the past.

Etna Bliss has just moved to the New Hampshire town where her uncle is a college professor. In one single moment, her life is totally transformed: she is dining in a hotel downtown when a fire forces her outside into the snowy streets. Amid the smoke and chaos of that night she is glimpsed, standing under a street lamp, by a man who had been dining in the same room - a man who is so overwhelmed by the sight of her that he immediately rebuilds his life around a single goal: to marry Etna Bliss.

Nicholas Van Tassel is a proud and orderly man, ill equipped to deal with the ferocity of his love for Etna Bliss. But he is determined to have her, no matter what the cost. Riding a train south many years later, Nicholas reflects on the night of his first meeting with Etna, the drama that followed and struggles to comprehend the mystery his life became on that night.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book and didn't want it to end. There were times during my reading that I almost felt sorry for Nicholas Van Tassel, stalker-type tendencies and all. To my mind, he was so wrapped up in his 'love at first sight' mentality that he was completely blinded to how unhappy Etna truly was in her life with him. I give this book an A+! and look forward to reading my next Anita Shreve book.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Joanna Trollope - A Village Affair

71. A Village Affair by Joanna Trollope (1989)
Length: 304 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 22 August 2012
Finished: 24 August 2012
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 17 August 2012
Why do I have it? I like Joanna Trollope as an author and have read and enjoyed two other books by her in the past.

Alice Jordan is a young wife and mother who ostensibly has everything she has ever wanted in her life: a beautiful house in the quiet little English village of Pitcombe, a dull but well-meaning barrister husband and three adorable young children. Instead of being overjoyed, however, Alice - once an extremely talented artist - is depressed and, since the birth of her children, unable to paint. When she meets Clodagh Unwin - the imperiously wayward daughter of local nobility - Alice's life changes immeasurably.

Clodagh has recently returned from America, supposedly nursing her wounds from a broken love affair. The firm and fast friendship that forms between both women soon turns into something more when Clodagh falls in love with Alice and seduces her. Their burgeoning love affair releases Alice from her depression: she becomes more loving towards her husband and children, is more outgoing toward members of the community, and has found her artistic 'joie de vivre' once again.

However, once the women's clandestine affair is discovered, the villagers become standoffish towards them, Alice's husband is shaken to his core, and Alice will have to make the biggest decision of her life.

This is the third of Joanna Trollope's books that I've read, and I have to say that A Village Affair was one book that I didn't want to end. I really haven't read any of Joanna Trollope's books in quite a while, but have just recently got back into reading her work again. I give this book an A+! and am looking forward to reading more of her books very soon.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

J. N. Williamson - Horror House

70. Horror House by J. N. Williamson (1981)
Length: 382 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 17 August 2012
Finished: 22 August 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 June 2009
Why do I have it? I like horror and J. N. Williamson is a new author for me.

Number 1129 Ridge Avenue - in the winter of 1871, Civil War profiteer Charles Wright Congelier, his wife Lyda and their young servant, Essie moved into the mansion after they bought it for a song. Weeks later, Lyda Congelier brutally murdered Charles and Essie after discovering her philandering husband having an affair with Essie. For roughly 20 years, the house stood vacant until a reclusive doctor named Adolph C. Brunrichter purchased the house in the early 1900s. A year later, the horrific sounds of a woman screaming followed by a huge explosion, brought firefighters into a true 'House of Horrors': Dr. Brunrichter had disappeared, leaving behind him gruesome remnants of his multiple demented experiments in the reanimation of the dead.

In the spring of 1920, esteemed inventor Thomas A. Edison entered the house on Ridge Avenue in order to test his newest invention: The Spirit Telephone. What transpired in the hours that the elderly inventor and his acquaintance, Freddie Parlock, were in that house, changed both men immeasurably  for the rest of their lives and unleashed a terrifying and demonic evil on the world. No one dared enter, until...

February of 1988 - Ben Kellogg and Laura Hawks decide to collaborate on a book about the hellish legend of 1129 Ridge Avenue. The house at 1129 Ridge Avenue had been completely destroyed in 1927 due to a tremendous gas main explosion that damaged the houses around it very minimally. The house itself may have been gone, but the gruesome stories of death remained. Ben has recently acquired Thomas Edison's Spirit Telephone and plans to recreate his long-abandoned experiment in an effort to prove, to the public at large at least, that communication with the spirit world is impossible.

To that end, Ben enlists the help of renowned ghost hunter and personal friend, Martin Ruben. Ben, however, has kept the true reasons for his interest in The Spirit Telephone to himself: his recently deceased mother had spent the majority of her life in a mental hospital, tormented by ghostly visions that, in turn, had ruined Ben's and his older brother's childhoods. As a result, Ben's true desire in recreating Thomas Edison's experiment has been to validate his mother's torturous existence and give her soul final peace.

I really did enjoy this book. I have read this book twice, and I do have to admit that this book was initially very slow for me to get into, but picked up relatively fast. This book is at least partially based on factual history: according to legend, there was a house - known as the Congelier Mansion - located at 1129 Ridge Avenue - and the original occupants, the Congeliers and Essie; as well as the unstable, murderous Dr. Brunricher, committed such horrific acts of depravity - that 1129 Ridge Avenue became known 'America's most haunted house' and Pittsburgh entered the annals of haunting.

Thomas Edison supposedly did visit the house in 1920, and the house's dark history inspired him to attempt to communicate with the Other Side. Thomas Edison's final invention, called The Spirit Telephone, was never actually completed so I'm not too sure if its prototype was ever tested inside the house. Unfortunately, Thomas Edison passed away in 1931 and his future plans for The Spirit Telephone never came to fruition.

The house on 1129 Ridge Avenue was obliterated in a gas main explosion that happened in November, 1927. A drunken vagrant, claiming to be the infamous Dr. Brunrichter, was arrested in September, 1927 and told police shocking stories of blood-soaked orgies, demonic possession, torture and murder which took place in the house on 1129 Ridge Avenue. The 'doctor' had claimed that he had once owned that house, and stated that he had murdered many more young women then were found at the location in the 1900s.

The police never could verify who the vagrant was, nor could they find evidence of his alleged crimes beyond the vagrant's own story. As a result, they only kept him in prison for a month - deeming him a "harmless drunk who suffered from delusions of grandeur" and releasing him into the community. Whoever this man was, he disappeared and was never seen or heard from again.

The entire plot that took place in 1988 was, according to J. N. Williamson, a work of fiction. I'm not too sure if the architect of the house that would eventually become known as the Congelier Mansion, actually did commit suicide on his first night in his new home, but to my knowledge, the various paranormal events that happened in the past are all true. I really enjoyed my reread of this book and ultimately give this book an A+! 

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Danielle Steel - One Day at a Time

69. One Day at a Time by Danielle Steel (2009)
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 15 August 2012
Finished: 17 August 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 Danielle Steel as an author and have read and enjoyed several of her books in the past.

Coco Barrington was born into a legendary Hollywood family, her last name loaded with expectations. Her mother is a mega bestselling author who writes under the pen name of Florence Flowers and her sister, Jane, is one of Hollywood's top producers. They are not your typical family by any means...Jane has lived with her partner Liz, in a solid, loving relationship for ten years. Florence, widowed but still radiant, has just begun a secret romance with a man twenty-four years her junior. And Coco - a law school dropout, turned dog walker - is her family's black sheep, who has fled life in the spotlight for the artsy northern California beach town of Bolinas.

But when Coco reluctantly agrees to dog-sit in Jane's luxurious home, she soon discovers how much things can change in just a matter of days. It turns out Jane's house comes complete with an unexpected house guest: Leslie Baxter, a dashing but down-to-earth British actor who is fleeing a psycho ex-girlfriend. Their worlds couldn't be more different. Their attraction couldn't be more immediate.

Suddenly, Coco is seeing things totally differently: Leslie is not just a celebrity, he is a loving single father with an adorable six-year-old daughter. Her mother's not just a self-centered walking advertisement for great cosmetic surgery, she is a woman in love, with vulnerability and new insight. And Jane and Liz are about to take the bravest plunge of all - into parenthood. As Coco contemplates a future with one of Hollywood's hottest stars, as her mother and sister settle into their new lives, old wounds are healed and new families are formed - some traditional and some not so traditional.

As I have said before, I consider Danielle Steel to be my "guilty pleasure" author - the type of author that I read in order to experience my "Calgon, take me away" moment. Usually, I can count on Danielle Steel for fluffy, feel good plots and characters. Unfortunately, this particular book had no such plots or characters for me to enjoy. I found that in the 320 pages of this book, Danielle Steel concentrated almost too much on the minutest details of characters' reactions to events, and not as much as she should have on furthering the plot.

Perhaps I didn't enjoy this book as much as I usually do when I read a book by Danielle Steel, but I did end up giving this book a B+! I still enjoy Danielle Steel as my "guilty pleasure" author, I just don't think I will read another Danielle Steel book for several months.

B+! - (89-85%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Sue Miller - While I Was Gone

68. While I Was Gone by Sue Miller (1999)
Length: 283 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 13 August 2012
Finished: 15 August 2012
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 June 2009
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and Sue Miller is a new author for me.

The seven college students came from all different walks of life. Jo, Eli, Dana, Duncan, Sara, John, and Larry may have met completely by chance, but their differences were what initially bonded them together in friendship. They did almost everything together - and were extremely close with each other - until a brutal crime tore everyone apart and the friends went their separate ways.

Jo Becker's life honestly couldn't get any better. She lives a comfortable life with her own successful veterinary practice; doing something that gives her an enormous sense of satisfaction and purpose. She has been happily married to her minister husband Daniel for almost thirty years, and the couple has three vivacious daughters. This loving family lives in a beautiful house somewhere in a tiny, picturesque town in suburban Massachusetts.

Despite living such a perfect life, Jo nevertheless finds herself strangely dissatisfied with her current situation. Her mind is periodically invaded by instances of persistent restlessness and she feels somewhat disconnected from her own life at times. The strange feeling of restlessness intensifies when Jo takes on a new client who brings her into contact with someone from her past. Eli Mayhew was an attractive, mysterious, twenty-something when Jo first knew him; and his sudden reappearance in her life brings back Jo's own long-buried memories of her troubled former life.

Her subsequent fascination with that particular period of her life, as well as with the horrific crime that marked its inevitable conclusion will begin to consume more and more of Jo's time and attention. Although her avid determination to solve the crime that so utterly devastated her past could ultimately define her future; Jo's obsession with discovering the truth about what happened in the past will eventually estrange her from everything she holds dear in the present. As she and Eli are drawn closer together again, Jo will be forced to tell lie after lie to protect herself and her family from this mysterious man...and from the repercussions of a horrible secret deeply buried somewhere in the past - somewhere within another lifetime.

I must say that I absolutely loved this book. The story was so well-written and intriguing for me to read. I appreciated that it flowed along so easily; in my opinion, it was was well-paced and held my interest all the way through. Although Sue Miller is a relatively new author for me, I am delighted to say that I have several other books by this author sitting on my bookshelf already.

I was just telling Mareena how much I was enjoying reading this book and how I thought that it would make such a good movie. She did a little bit of research, and told me that there had been a television movie made of the book back in 2004. Apparently, the movie starred Kirstie Alley and Bill Smitrovich. Despite never having seen the film adaptation of this book, I would nevertheless give While I Was Gone by Sue Miller a definite A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Bernard F. Conners - Dancehall

67. Dancehall by Bernard F. Conners (1983)
Length: 345 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 11 August 2012
Finished: 13 August 2012
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 10 July 2012
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and had read and enjoyed The Hampton Sisters by this author in the past.

On June 4, 1982 the body of a young woman surfaced from the depths of Lake Placid, New York. Because of the depth and the intense cold of the water, the body, which was determined by medical examiners to have been submerged in 300 feet of water for over twenty years, was remarkably well-preserved. Authorities concluded that her death had been violent.

In July of 1962, Ann Conway came from Yonkers, New York and now she found herself at a diner in Lake Placid interviewing for a waitress job. When a chance encounter with a busboy causes her to be fired from that job after only several hours, Ann mysteriously disappears and is never seen again.

Now two decades later, someone must pay. For Dave Powell, his loving wife Sue, and their little girl Dana, and all those close to them, the ordeal is about to begin.

I really enjoyed this book. I was drawn into the story almost from the first page. I thought that it was just a very good, well-written mystery. I give this book an A+! and have put it on my keeper shelf to read again later. 

Apparently, this story is very loosely based on the death of Mabel Smith Douglass, who in 1918, became the first dean of the New Jersey College for Women (later renamed Douglass College in her honor in 1955). On September 21, 1933 she was last seen rowing alone on Lake Placid. When her boat was discovered capsized near the deepest point of Lake Placid, the police dragged the lake but never found her body. Scuba divers located Mabel Smith Douglass's body 30 years later, however medical examiners couldn't agree whether her death was a suicide or murder. 

I actually read A Lady in the Lake: A True Account of Death and Discovery on Lake Placid by George Christian Ortloff in March of 2010 which is a Non-Fiction book about Mabel Smith Douglass's disappearance and the subsequent discovery of her body 30 years later.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Andrew Klavan - The Uncanny

66. The Uncanny by Andrew Klavan (1998)
Length: 402 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 7 August 2012
Finished: 11 August 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 14 June 2012
Why do I have it? I like Andrew Klavan as an author and had read and enjoyed True Crime by the same author.

When American horror film director Richard Storm first arrives in London, he has his own secret mission. Part vacation, part research, he finds renewed purpose in working at a magazine which features weird phenomena - Bizarre. The owner and editor is herself a curiosity and opens up a whole new world to Richard - a world of strange but true hauntings, ghost hunts and spirit worship. When Richard is first introduced to beautiful heiress Sophia Endering, he finds himself helplessly in love with her.

But Sophia is as dangerous to herself as she is for those who love her - for she has an almost unstoppable death wish. The smitten Richard follows Sophia through the labyrinth of her family's madness and their involvement in Nazi art thefts, down a trail formed by ghost stories more chilling then any that Richard could create for his movies.

This book was very good in parts, but I have to say that it was not one of my favorite books. I had some trouble following the plot and must say honestly that I'm still not entirely sure about certain parts of the story. Mareena got this book for me because she knew how much I had enjoyed True Crime, which is also by Andrew Klavan. I give this book an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anita Shreve - Sea Glass

65. Sea Glass by Anita Shreve (2002)
The Fortune's Rocks Series Book 2
Length: 376 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 4 August 2012
Finished: 7 August 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 31 July 2012
Why do I have it? I like Anita Shreve as an author and have read and enjoyed several of her books in the past.

It is a house on the beach that Honora doesn't mind renting. Despite its age and all its flaws, the old house is the perfect place to start off a new marriage. She and her husband, Sexton, throw themselves into fixing it up, just as they throw themselves into their new life together. While Honora fixes up the derelict house and searches for sea glass on the beach, Sexton risks everything they have to buy the house they both love.

Along with the entire population of America, Sexton is blindsided by the stock market crash of 1929 and finds himself penniless. The only work that he is able to find is in the local mill, where a labor dispute is erupting into violence. As their financial pressures continue to mount, Honora begins to see how little she actually knows about this man that she has married.

I think this was a wonderful book - I really found myself caring about the characters, and the plot was very believable to me. I give this book an A+! and will keep it for a while to reread at some point.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Clifford L. Linedecker - Unsolved Mysteries...Stranger Than Fiction

64. Unsolved Mysteries...Stranger Than Fiction by Clifford L. Linedecker (1991)
Length: 96 pages
Genre: Horror
Started/Finished: 4 August 2012
Where did it come from? From Walmart
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 12 January 2009
Why do I have it? Mareena bought this for herself at Walmart, read it about a month later and then passed it on to me for me to read.

The Cornish prayer that's on the back of the book explains it best: "From ghoulies and ghosties and long leggety beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!" This is a book of 29 stories, ranging from unexplained hauntings and unsolved murders to sightings of sea monsters, UFOs and crop circles. I enjoy learning about unexplained events and give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Maeve Binchy - Minding Frankie

63. Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy (2010)

Length: 425 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 31 July 2012
Finished: 3 August 2012
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 31 July 2012
Why do I have it? I like Maeve Binchy as an author and have read and enjoyed several of her books in the past.

When Noel learns that a former flame is terminally ill and pregnant with a child that she claims is his, he agrees to take care of the baby girl once she is born. A recovering alcoholic who is barely keeping his inner demons at bay, Noel is perhaps not the most promising of fathers but despite everything, he could well turn out to be Baby Frankie's best hope.

Luckily, Noel has a very close network of friends and family who are ready to help him raise Frankie. There is love-starved Lisa, who becomes his round-the-clock partner in little Frankie's care, his American cousin and pep-talker, Emily, as well as a host of eager babysitters from all around the close-knit Irish community of Jarlath Crescent, Dublin who are ready to step up and offer their services to Noel.

The unusual arrangement works out well for everyone concerned until a nosy social worker, Moira arrives. She is convinced that the best thing for Frankie is to be raised in a foster home and she has the power to make that happen. However, she has her own secrets to hide. Now the entire community of Jarlath Crescent must come together and prove to Moira that they each have something to offer in the raising of little Frankie.

I really, really enjoyed this book and found it to be extremely heartwarming and a true feel good story. I gave this book an A+! and happily put it away on my bookshelf. I will probably reread it in a couple of years time. I was very surprised to learn from her website that Maeve Binchy passed away on July 30, 2012 after a short illness. As I've probably said before, Maeve Binchy was one of my favorite authors and in my opinion, she will be sorely missed by readers all over the world. God bless you, Maeve. may your soul rest in peace.

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 621 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 612 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from Paperback Swap and Bookmooch and a Library Book Sale that we went to on the 20th.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Rereads
- Life Wish by Jill Ireland

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Summer of the Red Wolf  by Morris L. West
- Privileged Information by Stephen White 
- Let the Magic Begin: Opening the Door to a Whole New World of Possibility by Cathy Lee Crosby 
- Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher 
- The Lives of Danielle Steel: The Unauthorized Biography of America's #1 Best-Selling Author by Vickie L. Bane and Lorenzo Benet
- The Carousel by Rosamunde Pilcher
- The Devil's Hunt by P. C. Doherty
- Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- Dancehall by Bernard F. Conners
- After This by Alice McDermott
- The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
- Anne McKevitt's Style Solutions: 365 of the Freshest Looks, Smartest Tips and Best Advice For Your Home by Anne McKevitt
- Bargello Magic: How to Design Your Own by Pauline Fisher and Anabel Lasker
- Betty Crocker's Working Woman's Cookbook by Betty Crocker
- Blood Memories by Barb Hendee
- By the Lake by John McGahern
- Campbell's Quick Easy Recipes by Patricia Teberg
- Christmas Cross-Stitch by Better Homes and Gardens
- City of Bones by Michael Connelly
- The Climb: Tragic Ambition on Everest by G. Weston Dewalt and Antoli Boukreev
- Cold Mountain: A Novel by Charles Frazier
- Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
- Commitments by Barbara Delinsky
- Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
- Deadly Grace by Taylor Smith
- Dream Country by Luanne Rice
- God's Other Son by Don Imus
- A Good Woman by Danielle Steel
- The Hours by Michael Cunningham
- The House on Fortune Street: A Novel by Margot Livesey
- The House on Hope Street by Danielle Steel
- Islands by Anne Rivers Siddons
- Jordan's Bend by Carolyn Williford
- McNally's Folly by Vincent Lardo
- Nothing Lasts Forever by Sidney Sheldon
- One Day by David Nicholls
- One Day at a Time by Danielle Steel
- The Orphan Game by Ann Darby
- Past Perfect by Susan Isaacs
- A Patchwork Planet: A Novel by Anne Tyler
- The Peppered Moth by Margaret Drabble
- Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende
- The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
- Right Next Door by Debbie Macomber
- Saul and Patsy: A Novel by Charles Baxter
- Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan
- The Secret Hour by Luanne Rice
- Shattered by Karen Robards
- The Taste of Salt by Martha Southgate
- A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
- Trial by Fire by Terri Blackstock
- Two Women: A Novel of Friendship by Marianne Fredriksson
- The Unnatural Inquirer by Simon R. Green
- The Water Giver: The Story of a Mother, a Son, and Their Second Chance by Joan Ryan
- The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright
- The Weight of Silence: A Novel by Heather Gudenkauf
- Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts
- Puppets by Daniel Hecht
- Like Water For Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments, With Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies by Laura Esquivel
- Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
- Sea Glass by Anita Shreve

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
- Towards Zero by Agatha Christie
- Privileged Information by Stephen White
- Skull Session by Daniel Hecht
- The Haunted Mesa by Louis L'Amour
- Harvest by Tess Gerritsen

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

Books Read: 9
Pages Read: 3,112
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