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

While I Was Gone by Sue Miller  

  Published as: While I Was Gone: A Novel in January 1999

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Birth Name: Sue Miller
Born: 29 November 1943 in Chicago, Illinois

Canonical Name: Sue Miller
Pseudonyms: None

While I Was Gone by Sue Miller was the sixteenth book that I read in 2016. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since June 1, 2009 and my reread of it took me three days to read. This book is definitely a keeper for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Margot Livesey - Criminals: A Novel

19. Criminals: A Novel by Margot Livesey (1995)
Length: 271 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 26 March 2016
Finished: 31 March 2016
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 29 January 2015
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Ewan Munro - a decent, yet harried young banker - receives a peculiar and disturbing letter from his sister Mollie. Already poised on the brink of his own personal crisis and desperately worried about Mollie's troubled state of mind, Ewan travels north to Scotland to be with his sister in her time of need. Along the way, Ewan discovers a baby abandoned in a bus station rest-room and, unsure about what to do next, he takes the child with him to see his sister.

What follows next are the intertwining stories and motivations of five different people - and the poignant story of the many more lives caught up in binding nets of affection and responsibility, of sibling loyalty, romantic longing and maternal love. Ultimately, the question becomes, where does the line between doing the morally acceptable thing cross with the line that follows criminal behavior? And what is the true cost of having the best of intentions and acting on them?

First of all, let me say that this was an extraordinarily well-written story and I enjoyed it immensely. In my opinion, Ms. Livesey really captures the authenticity of her characters, and manages to make the reader care about them as people who are experiencing tremendous difficulties. That being said, I will say that this particular story seemed just the slightest bit far-fetched; although I would still give this book a definite A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Okay, I Admit it, I'm a Puzzle Junkie!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

Well, I'm back to doing sudoku puzzles again. Granted, I've been alternating between sudoku puzzles and sum-doku puzzles, but the sudoku puzzles are usually from the daily newspaper. I also tend to do a couple of sum-doku puzzles every day as well. Oh, and my friend Pamela drops off copies of the crossword puzzle from the newspaper every Sunday afternoon. I'm usually all set for the week with my stack of accumulated number and word puzzles.

As for my reading, I have to say that it has been a relatively slow month for me. I have actually started and set aside four books; the last one being Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman by Alice Steinbach. I started this book on Wednesday afternoon, March 23rd and set it aside on Saturday morning, March 26th in favor of reading Criminals: A Novel by Margot Livesey.

I have read a total of three books and as of Sunday evening, March 27th - according to Goodreads, I'm on page 8 in 288 which is approximately 2 percent into Ms. Livesey's book. As my own copy of the book actually has 271 pages; being on page 8 means that I've read approximately 3 percent of the story. So far, the book is really good!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Contrary to What You May Read, I Have Been Fairly Busy!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

I have been doing quite a number of sum-doku puzzles for the last few days, and I've dipped back into my Christmas supply of puzzle books for a while. I've also been alternating between doing crossword puzzles and the word jumbles from the newspaper. I'm approximately halfway through my current sum-doku puzzle book.

As for my reading, I started reading a true crime story called Engaged to Murder: The Shocking True Story of the Nation's Most Brutal Triple Murder by Loretta Schwartz-Nobel on Friday night, March 18th! I've since set that book aside for a while in favor of reading An Unexpected Family by Joan Mendlicott which I started reading on Monday afternoon, March 21st! I finished that book the next day, Tuesday morning, March 22nd. It was really quite good!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Joan Mendlicott - An Unexpected Family

18. An Unexpected Family by Joan Mendlicott (2007)

The Ladies of Covington Series Book 7

Length: 212 pages 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction 

Started: 21 March 2016

Finished: 22 March 2016

Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale 

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 23 December 2015

Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and had read and enjoyed Come Walk With Me by the same author in the past.

Widow Amelia Declose had always believed that she and her late husband had had a wonderful marriage. After all, Thomas Declose was a wonderful man - an honorable man who loved his wife deeply - and Amelia always portrayed her marriage to be one that was as close to perfection as she could ever have hoped to come. The couple had lived in Paris and entertained for a glittering crowd; only the tragic loss of their only child - a nine-year-old daughter, Caroline - marred what appeared to otherwise be an idyllic existence.

However, Amelia's world is rocked to its foundations when Miriam Smith arrives with her daughter Sadie on Amelia's doorstep in the midst of a snowstorm. While Amelia feels sympathy for the young woman's desperate situation, she is less empathetic towards Miriam's outrageous story. After hearing Miriam's claim that she is, in fact, the illegitimate child of the long-deceased Thomas, Amelia reacts with shock and fury. Could Thomas possibly have been living a secret life that he hid from her - a life that would have made their marriage vows a lie?

Rebuffing the wise counsel of her housemates, Grace and Hannah, Amelia dismisses the possibility of having a family of her own and buries herself in the pain of Thomas' betrayal and her own humiliation. Little Sadie is the spitting image of Amelia's own lost daughter, though, and she cannot help but take both mother and child into her heart. But it seems that danger stalks Miriam, and it looks as if Amelia may lose this new family as well. When Mother's Day arrives, will Amelia be left with empty arms...or will her deepest longings finally be fulfilled?

First of all, let me say that I really did enjoy reading this book. The story was actually really easy reading for me - truly a likable, easygoing, 'feel good about humanity' story. Truthfully, and I don't necessarily mean this as a criticism of Ms. Mendlicott's writing style - but I sort of felt like I was reading a 'Hallmark Moments' plot. I would give this book a definite A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Books and Sum-Doku Puzzles Are on my Mind!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

First of all, let me mention the movies that Mareena and I watched. Starting on Sunday night, March 13th and concluding on Monday night, March 14th, was the four-hour miniseries based on Agatha Christie's mystery novel, And Then There Were None. Granted, neither of us had read the book before we saw the movie, but Mareena immediately requested it from several book swapping websites that we belong to.

Without giving away too much of the plot, I hope, Mareena turned to me at some point during the movie and said: "Oh boy, this isn't good, there are approximately three characters that I'm actually beginning to like. Knowing Agatha Christie's tendency for incredible plot twists, I'm probably going to wind up rooting for a cold-blooded murderer to somehow survive this house of horror and carnage, get off the island, and live happily ever after." And, as it turned out, she was partially right! LOL!!!

Mareena and I also decided that we would start watching a DVD over the weekend. We began watching The Talented Mr. Ripley on Saturday afternoon, March 12th, and finished watching the movie on Thursday afternoon, March 17th - St. Patrick's Day! Mareena had actually seen the movie before, but I never had. It was a really intriguing movie; I liked it very much!

As for my reading, I've just finished reading Capitol Murder: A Novel of Suspense by Phillip Margolin on Friday night, March 18th! Then, I immediately started reading a true crime story called Engaged to Murder: The Shocking True Story of the Nation's Most Brutal Triple Murder by Loretta Schwartz-Nobel. I started reading this book on Friday night, March 18th, although as of this morning, March 20th, I'm not sure if I may set it aside for a while.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Phillip Margolin - Capitol Murder: A Novel of Suspense

17. Capitol Murder: A Novel of Suspense by Phillip Margolin (2012)

The Dana Cutler and Brad Miller Series Book 3

Length: 342 pages 

Genre: Contemporary Mystery 

Started: 15 March 2016

Finished: 18 March 2016

Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 23 December 2015

Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and although I have several of his novels on my bookshelf, Phillip Margolin is a relatively new author for me.

Private investigator Dana Cutler and attorney Brad Miller have been partners on several challenging and high-profile cases together. They have had to overcome countless difficulties and have made a variety of extremely powerful enemies over the course of their careers. Against such tremendous odds, Dana and Brad have always done their best to see that justice prevails. Now a series of wicked threats old and new are about to reunite them once again.

Brad Miller is distressed to learn that the death penalty sentences of a convicted serial killer have recently been reversed. As a result, it seems that Brad's former client Clarence Little may be able to appeal his multiple murder convictions. However, Brad is absolutely certain that any judge who hears the trials could not possibly overturn any of his convictions; that just would never happen.

Brad is currently living in D. C., working as the legislative assistant to Senator Jack Carson, a high-ranking member of the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence. When several hand-addressed letters are delivered to Brad's office as well as to his apartment, he is horrified to discover that Clarence Little has begun writing to him. Although none of his letters are overtly threatening, they still contain just enough personal information about Brad and his family to be genuinely disturbing. It seems that even from an Oregon jail cell, Clarence Little has somehow found a new way to torment people.

Brad becomes utterly terrified for himself and his new wife when a dead body is found in Senator Carson's upscale Georgetown home. The body exhibits all the hallmarks of someone who is a victim of Clarence Little, and the senator himself has disappeared. If this isn't actually the gruesome handiwork of Clarence Little, who could possibly be doing all this?

Meanwhile back in Oregon, where Dana Cutler is investigating the senator's shady background, a terrorist cell is poised to destroy a packed professional football stadium in one of the largest attacks on American soil. As the senator's personal life begins to dovetail with the terrorist cell's evil plan, Brad and Dana find themselves in danger once again. They must risk everything to uncover the truth and save their country.

I must say that although I may have read some of Phillip Margolin's novels in the past, I know that I haven't read books from any of his series. That being said, I still found this book to be surprisingly well-written. I enjoyed it very much, even though this isn't necessarily the typical genre that I would choose to read for myself. The story was still intriguing and fast-paced; I would definitely give this book an A! 

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

May You All Have the Most Peaceful St. Patrick's Day!

  

To all of my dear friends - old and new, those found online and in real life - may you all have the best and most blessedly beautiful St. Patrick's Day! 

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I'm Back to Doing Number Puzzles Again!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

So, after abstaining from doing jigsaw puzzles for over a month, I chose to start a 1,000-piece puzzle of a hot-air balloon race. Since I started doing the puzzle on Thursday afternoon, March 10th, I didn't actually think I would be able to finish the jigsaw puzzle in three days but I did. By Sunday evening, March 13th, I had completely finished the jigsaw puzzle.

I'm happy to say that I finished the second sum-doku puzzle book out of my Christmas supply of puzzle books on Wednesday night, March 9th! I immediately opened and started in on my most recently received package of puzzle books on Thursday morning, March 10th! As of today, March 15th, I think I'm about a quarter of the way through this particular puzzle book.

Mareena and I also decided that we would start watching a DVD over the weekend. We had our eyes set on watching either the 2000 horror movie, What Lies Beneath, starring Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Or there was also the 1999 crime thriller, The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow. We began watching The Talented Mr. Ripley on Saturday afternoon, March 12th, and are probably halfway done with the movie by now.

As for my reading, I've just set aside Beachcombers: A Novel by Nancy Thayer because I'm not that far into it. After starting the book on Thursday afternoon, March 10th, I've found myself becoming somewhat stalled in my reading - still in the single digits, pagewise! So, I just started reading Capitol Murder: A Novel of Suspense by Phillip Margolin early this morning.

I really can't remember reading any of Mr. Margolin's novels - although I know that I must have read some in the past. Despite having several novels by this author sitting on my bookshelf, I've never actually read any of the author's books from any of his series.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Movies and Jigsaw Puzzles Are the Orders of the Day!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

Well, I finally caved! I chose to do a jigsaw puzzle for the first time in over a month - since Thursday morning, February 4th! The jigsaw puzzle that I've chosen to do has 1,000 pieces and is of a hot-air balloon race with approximately six balloons taking part in the race. I must say that although this puzzle is not horrendously difficult to do, neither is it a complete 'piece of cake' - I started the puzzle on Thursday afternoon, March 10th. I'm actually enjoying the moderate difficulty level.

For the past few days, I've primarily been doing crossword puzzles and word jumbles from out of the newspaper. I've also been doing sum-doku puzzles as well. I've been focused on my newest influx of puzzle books.

There seem to be some very interesting movies coming up in the next couple of weeks, starting with a two-night showing of a miniseries based on the Agatha Christie mystery novel, And Then There Were None. The miniseries begins on Sunday night, March 13th! Mareena and I have been trying to decide whether or not we want to watch a scary movie today. We haven't any idea what the movie might be, but we'll see what DVD in our collection happens to catch our eye.

As for my reading, I've actually posted The Confession: A Novel by John Grisham on all the book swapping websites that Mareena and I belong to - John Grisham is an excellent writer, don't get me wrong, but I just can't seem to get in to The Confession: A Novel. Maybe someone else will enjoy the book more than I did; I don't know! I started reading Beachcombers: A Novel by Nancy Thayer - actually a reread for me from June of 2013 - on Thursday afternoon, March 10th; and after two days spent reading, I'm really not that far in yet. I think I'm only on page six or so.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Jigsaw Puzzles Are Calling to Me!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

I've actually been doing number puzzles since Monday afternoon, February 29th, although my jigsaw puzzle collection is beginning to whisper slightly to me again. Since I haven't actually looked at a jigsaw puzzle for about a month and a half - or at least since Thursday morning, February 4th - I'm thinking about choosing a jigsaw puzzle. I may have one or two jigsaw puzzles on my radar already, but can't really decide which one to do first.

I'm happy to say that I just finished another entire sum-doku puzzle book on Wednesday night, March 9th! I immediately opened my newest package of puzzle books, and as of this morning I started in on the contents. I've also been doing crossword puzzles and word jumbles from out of the newspaper.

Since 'Downton Abbey' ended on Sunday night, March 6th, Mareena and I are wondering how we will spend our Sunday evenings now. So far, there seem to be some very interesting movies coming up in the next couple of weeks, starting with a two-night showing of a miniseries based on the Agatha Christie mystery novel, And Then There Were None. The miniseries begins on Sunday night, March 13th!

As for my reading, I just finished reading While I Was Gone by Sue Miller on Friday afternoon, March  4th! This was a reread for me from approximately three and a half years ago. Unfortunately, I've become stalled in my reading of The Confession: A Novel by John Grisham. I started reading the book on Friday night, March 4th, but as of Sunday evening, March 6th, I've only read 5 percent of the story. So, I think I'll put the book aside for a while and maybe start reading a book that I haven't read since June of 2013: Beachcombers: A Novel by Nancy Thayer.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I'm Alternating Between Number Puzzles!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

I've actually been doing number puzzles since Monday afternoon, February 29th. I have been alternating between doing sudoku, then sum-doku puzzles every couple of days. As of today, March 7th, I've started doing sum-doku puzzles. Actually, I just received a new package of sum-doku puzzles in the mail on Friday afternoon, March 4th!

There are actually six books of puzzles in this package, and although I haven't unwrapped it yet, the sealed package is still sitting on my table. I just wanted to finish at least one other book from my recently opened Christmas Day supply of sum-doku puzzle books. Then I'll probably start in on my newest March acquisition of puzzle books.

So, on Sunday night, March 6th, Mareena and I tuned in to PBS' 'Masterpiece' to watch the finale of 'Downton Abbey'. The series ended very well indeed; thank goodness that no one was electrocuted by Lady Mary's new fangled hair-dryer, or that Lord Robert did not suffer a massive heart attack while walking Lady Edith down the aisle. No, as I said, the series ended very peacefully and very well. Mareena and I enjoyed it very much! lol! :)

As for my reading, I just finished reading While I Was Gone by Sue Miller on Friday afternoon, March  4th! This was a reread for me from approximately three and a half years ago. Next up on my TBR pile was The Confession: A Novel by John Grisham - this book has been on my TBR pile since June of 2013.

I started reading the book on Friday night, March 4th. As of Sunday evening, March 6th, I'm only on page 25 of 418; which means that I have only read approximately 5 percent of the story. Apparently, I haven't gotten all that far into the story as yet.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Sue Miller - While I Was Gone

Reread. While I Was Gone by Sue Miller (1999)
Length: 283 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Originally Read: 15 August 2012
Reread Finished: 4 March 2016
Where did it come from? Originally from a Library Book Sale, then from my "keeper" shelf.

So after I finished reading my last book on February 29th, 2016, I immediately started reading this one. I hadn't read the book for approximately three years, so I thought that I needed to refresh my memory about the plot. It ended up that I could barely remember the story.

I had acquired this book in a Library Book Sale that Mareena and I went to in June of 2009. The book sat unread on my bookshelf for over three years, until I read it for the first time over two days in August of 2012 - from August 13th, to August 15th, 2012. My reread took place over three days in March of 2016 - from March 1st, to March 4th, 2016. I think that I will be keeping this book for a little while longer.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Sudoku is the Puzzle of the Moment!

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

I've been doing crossword puzzles on and off for approximately two weeks - or at least since Monday night, February 15th! I have probably done about twelve or thirteen puzzles - mostly from the newspaper. Although, since Monday afternoon, February 29th, I've switched over to doing sudoku puzzles.

As for my reading, I just finished reading Cruel Winter by Anthony Izzo on Monday night, February 29th! Since I started the book on Thursday night, February 25th, it only took me a total of four days to read. In my opinion, this was pretty good as a debut - I really enjoyed reading it.

Next up on my TBR pile was While I Was Gone by Sue Miller - actually this was a reread for me from approximately three and a half years ago. I read it for the first time over two days in August of 2012. I started reading this book again on Tuesday afternoon, March 1st and as of this morning - Thursday March 3rd - I'm on page 176 of 265, or approximately 66 percent. My copy of this book actually has 283 pages in it; so 176 pages in, means I've read approximately 62 percent.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up For February 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 February with 1,047 books lying around the house and ended the month with 1,041 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from Paperback Swap.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile

Rereads
- The Saints and Sinners of Okay County: A Novel by Dayna Dunbar

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- The Other Family: A Novel by Joanna Trollope
- Overnight Float: A Mystery by Clare Munnings
- The House at Old Vine by Norah Lofts
- Dearest by Peter Loughran
- Cruel Winter by Anthony Izzo

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- Storming the Magic Kingdom: Wall Street, the Raiders and the Battle For Disney by John Taylor
- Angel Cafe by Jill Morrow

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Blood Sugar by Jim DeFilippi
- The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence Sanders
- A Scaly Tale by Ripley's Believe it or Not!
- One Day at a Time by Danielle Steel
- A Ruling Passion: Volume 1 by Judith Michael
- The Fever Tree: A Novel by Jennifer McVeigh
- The History Major: A Novella by Michael Phillip Cash
- Ripley's Bureau of Investigation: Ripley's RBI: A Scaly Tale by Kay Wilkins
- Anne McKevitt's Style Solutions: 365 of the Freshest Looks, Smartest Tips and Best Advice For Your Home by Anne McKevitt
- The Saints and Sinners of Okay County: A Novel by Dayna Dunbar
- Doctor Love by Gael Greene

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

Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 2,143
Grade Range: A+! to B+!

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