July's Book of the Month

 

Hello Everyone! I chose the picture posted above because it reminds me of reading to my daughter Mareena when she was little. Every afternoon until she was about eight or nine years old, we would take one of her books that she wanted to read or that she was reading and we would curl up together on my big bed. 

We would spend an hour or so reading a chapter of her book, and then take a nap together. Her absolutely favorite author at that time was an English author named Enid Blyton. Ahh, nice memories... 

My picks for 'Books of the Month' will be decidedly more adult these days, but they will be from almost any genre. July's Book of the Month is:

Homework: A Novel by Margot Livesey   

  Published as: Homework: A Novel in February 1990

Publisher: Viking Adult

Birth Name: Margot Livesey
Born: 23 July 1953 in Scotland, United Kingdom

Canonical Name: Margot Livesey
Pseudonyms: None

Homework: A Novel by Margot Livesey was the fortieth book that I read in 2016. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since December 15, 2014 and my reread of it took me a total of two days. This book is a definite keeper for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Margot Livesey - Homework: A Novel

Reread. Homework: A Novel by Margot Livesey (1990)

Length: 339 pages 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction 

Originally Read: 18 December 2014

Reread Finished: 30 July 2016

Where did it come from? Originally from Paperback Swap, then from my "keeper" shelf.

So, while the last book that I read was Knitting: A Novel by Anne Bartlett, the last book that I read that was technically a reread for me was Fortune's Rocks: A Novel by Anita Shreve. Perhaps both books could not possibly have been more different in their settings - Fortune's Rocks: A Novel by Anita Shreve took place in turn-of-the-twentieth-century New Hampshire, at a beach house called 'Fortune's Rocks'. Knitting: A Novel by Anne Bartlett took place in an entirely different country - Australia in the summertime, which actually happens during wintertime in North America. This particular book also took place in more contemporary times.

However, both books dealt with personal relationships and were such good stories each in their own right. Mareena acquired Homework: A Novel by Margot Livesey as her December 'just because' gift for me back in 2014 from Paperback Swap. While the book arrived in the afternoon mail on December 15th, 2014, I actually read it for the first time over one day in December of 2014 - from December 17th, to December 18th, 2014.

My reread of this book took place approximately one and a half years later - over two days in July of 2016 - from July 28th, to July 30th, 2016! The book is definitely still a keeper from me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anne Bartlett - Knitting: A Novel

39. Knitting: A Novel by Anne Bartlett (2005)
Length: 282 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 26 July 2016
Finished: 28 July 2016
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 19 September 2014
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and Anne Bartlett is a new author for me.

While Sandra - a rigidly focused academic - struggles to navigate her way through life without her husband Jack, whom she recently lost to cancer, she is absolutely certain that nothing will ever be the same again. She had once thought that the well-ordered life that she had lived with her husband would just continue along in the same way it had since his passing. However, the intervening months have tested that belief. In the ten months since his death, Sandra has felt like she is wrapped in a layer of ice-cold glass - numbed by her grief, Sandra is certain that she will never feel warm again.

A chance meeting with a woman who could possibly be Sandra's polar opposite leads to a very unlikely friendship between them. Sandra meets Martha McKenzie after both women become Good Samaritans to someone suffering from a medical crisis in the street. Martha is an extraordinarily gifted knitter with her own secret store of grief. She spends her days knitting an astonishing variety of projects - each one of which is an elaborate creation - imbued with an incredible wealth of personal meaning.

While Sandra's own grief has constrained her spirit, Martha appears to wear hers very lightly. However, neither woman realizes just how much their differences will ultimately spark their own unique friendship. It is actually a shared fascination with knitting that ultimately draws these two very different women together.

Sandra is actually fascinated by all forms of needle and textile-craft, although her true talent for the domestic arts lies in her study of them. As a matter of fact, Sandra whole-heartedly believes that it is her avid interest in all types of domestic handiwork which has kept her fully grounded in reality for the past ten months. So, as the two women subsequently open up their lives to each other, their collaboration on an exhibition of 'Retro and Contemporary Knitting and Women's Handiwork' sets in motion a series of events that will help to heal them both in miraculous ways.

I was initially intrigued by the story because I have always enjoyed knitting and was curious to see how the story would evolve. To be perfectly honest, I found the story to be slightly anticlimactic although still very enjoyable. I liked so many of the characters, and found the plot well-developed yet easily paced. In my opinion, this was a delightful debut novel and I would definitely give it an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Mary Higgins Clark - On the Street Where You Live: A Novel

38. On the Street Where You Live: A Novel by Mary Higgins Clark (2001)
Length: 317 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 23 July 2016
Finished: 26 July 2016
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 7 June 2016
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Emily Graham is a criminal defense attorney who has already been through so much during her lifetime. Having already endured an exasperating ex-husband and the acrimonious breakup of her marriage - as well as the traumatic experience of being pursued by an obsessed stalker - Emily feels the need to get as far away from home as possible. So, deciding that she deserves a change of scenery, she eagerly accepts an offer to leave Albany and take up a position with a major law firm in Manhattan.

Feeling a strong desire to reestablish her roots, Emily buys her ancestral home - a restored Victorian mansion situated in the historic seaside resort town of Spring Lake, New Jersey. Her family had chosen to sell the house back in 1892, after the mysterious disappearance of nineteen-year-old Madeline Shapley - a distant relative of Emily Graham. Unfortunately, Madeline Shapley was never seen again.

More than a century later, as the house is being renovated and the backyard excavated to install a pool, the skeletal remains of a young woman are found. She is soon identified as Martha Lawrence, someone who went missing from Spring Lake over four years ago. However, Martha doesn't seem to have been buried alone - she has another woman's finger bone clutched within her skeletal hand. The lady's finger bone still has a ring on it - a ring that turns out to have been a Shapley family heirloom.

Now, as Emily seeks to discover the link between her family's past and the most recent murder, she actually finds herself haunted by both murders - despite the one hundred and ten years that separate them. Emily's subsequent investigation reveals that both crimes seem to be related to each other, yet this information isn't actually what frightens her the most. What actually begins to frighten Emily the most, is that she has somehow attracted the attention of a very devious and seductive killer - someone who ultimately sees her curiosity as a threat, and has chosen her as his next victim...

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this particular book. Actually, the story gave me the slightest impression that I was reading an Agatha Christie-style mystery - which means that I hadn't any clue at all who the perpetrator was, but absolutely no one was beyond suspicion. In my opinion, it was an intriguing and intricate plot that held my attention all the way through. I would definitely give this book an A!

I may have said this before, but I will say it again: to me, Mary Higgins Clark is a bit like Barbara Delinsky in terms of enjoyment of their books. The books that I have read by Ms. Clark have all been very entertaining and enjoyable, but sometimes she is a bit of a hit-or-miss author for me.

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Beth Gutcheon - More Than You Know: A Novel

37. More Than You Know: A Novel by Beth Gutcheon (2000)

Length: 269 pages 

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Started: 18 July 2016

Finished: 23 July 2016

Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale 

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 7 June 2016

Why do I have it? I like historical fiction and Beth Gutcheon is a new author for me.

In the coastal town of Dundee, Maine, an elderly lady begins telling her story: "Somebody said 'true love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have seen.' I've seen both and I don't know how to tell you which is worse." Although her children cannot understand why she insists on traveling back to Dundee, Maine every winter, Hannah Gray nevertheless finds herself drawn back to the place where her heart has always been. So, as she reaches the twilight of her life, Hannah decides, finally, to leave a record of the long-ago Dundee summer when she first met Conary Crocker.

Although the tale that she recounts is definitely not one which she wishes to tell in darkness, Hannah feels infinitely better telling such a story in the town of Dundee - the town where so many of her memories of Con Crocker remain. Con Crocker is the local 'bad boy' of Dundee, and he quickly becomes the love of young Hannah's life. Her story tells of the passionate and anguished summer when Conary's fate and her own became intertwined for all time.

Hannah and Conary's anguished teenage love story intersects with another intense love story - the love story of Claris Osgood and Danial Haskell. As a matter of fact, this spare, piercing, and unforgettable novel spans two centuries, as Hannah's and Conary's fates become intertwined with the story of a complicated, yet undying romance - that of Danial and Claris - and interwoven with the tale of a marriage that took place in Dundee a hundred years earlier.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Although I initially found the time jumps between eras somewhat confusing, I was soon caught up in the plot and ensnared by both stories. The stories may have been separated by centuries, but each one resonated with the other fairly perfectly.

I appreciated how each separate love story ran parallel to each other, yet complemented each other so well. I also thought that the addition of the ghost in Hannah's story enhanced the level of eeriness of her story; there was a subtle increase to the tension within the story, and I appreciated that the creepiness wasn't necessarily always 'in your face' shocking. I will definitely be putting Beth Gutcheon's name at the top of my wish list, and give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight 

Jigsaw Puzzles Are Back in Fashion!

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, three books that I recently posted on several book swapping websites were snapped up within a few days and finally got to where they needed to go. My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due just arrived today - Thursday, July 21st - in Texas with the person who requested it. Like I have said before, I'm slowly whittling down my gigantic library.

Since I haven't done any jigsaw puzzles for quite some weeks - at least since Saturday afternoon, June 18th - I decided to get back into the swing of things again by doing another jigsaw puzzle from my collection. I started doing another 1000-piece puzzle of an old old-style sailboat pulling into a harbor on Monday evening, July 18th! The puzzle is actually one that I bought for myself around Christmastime, and I have done at least twice already!

As regards my own reading, the last book that I read was Sweet Salt Air: A Novel by Barbara Delinsky. I started reading the book on Wednesday night, July 13th and five days later - on Monday night, July 18th - I finished it. I immediately started to read More Than You Know: A Novel by Beth Gutcheon on Monday night, July 18th - although I didn't get that far into the story until the next day, Tuesday, July 19th!

According to Goodreads - as of today, Thursday, July 21st - I'm currently on page 63 of 269; or approximately 23 percent into the story. I'm totally getting into the flow of the story now, and enjoying this book very much. Ms. Gutcheon is definitely going on my wish list.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight 

Barbara Delinsky - Sweet Salt Air: A Novel

36. Sweet Salt Air: A Novel by Barbara Delinsky (2013)

Length: 404 pages 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Started: 13 July 2016

Finished: 18 July 2016

Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 11 July 2016

Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

On Quinnipeague Island - just off the coast of Maine - hearts open up under the summer stars and secrets float in the sweet salt air. Nicole and Charlotte had once been the best of friends. Spending summers together at Nicole's island home off the coast of Maine was an idyllic time for both of them, but sometimes memories - no matter how sweet they are - cannot last. Too many years and too many secrets have begun to color the women's friendship and have succeeded in keeping them apart.

Charlotte is a successful travel writer who spends most of her time on the road. She is single, but is happy living as she does - on the road and out of a suitcase. Nicole is a food blogger who keeps house in Philadelphia; and she has been happily married to her surgeon husband Julian for the past ten years. When Nicole is commissioned to write a book about island food, she decides to invite Charlotte back for one final summer, to the place where the women had spent so many idyllic summers together - Quinnipeague, Maine.

To Nicole's mind, this could prove to be the perfect partnership between them. Outgoing and passionate, Charlotte has a gift for engaging people - talking to them and making friends with everyone she meets. Nicole could use her own expertise to interview the locals. So, dearly missing a genuine connection with her former best friend, Charlotte eagerly accepts Nicole's invitation.

Yet what both women don't realize is that they are each holding on to secrets that may change their lives forever. For Nicole, what comes to light could possibly destroy her marriage, but it could also help save her husband's life. For Charlotte, the truth could ultimately cost her Nicole's friendship, but the revelation could also give her a second chance to find love again. And Charlotte's second chance for love may lie with a reclusive local man, with a heart to soothe and troubles of his own.

First of all, let me say that I genuinely enjoy reading anything by Barbara Delinsky - she certainly can write an intriguing story and creates well-developed, sympathetic characters. Having said that, I must also admit that Ms. Delinsky has a tendency to be a bit of a hit-or-miss author for me. Perhaps I have mentioned this before, but some of her work seems slightly over-written and tremendously - if minutely - detailed.

This particular story was certainly interesting and an enjoyable reading experience for me. However, I would also say that it was slightly longer than I thought that it needed to be to tell the story. In my opinion though, this story was still well worth reading. I would still give this book a definite A! 

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

My Spring/Summer Cleaning Spree Went Fairly Well!

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, once again I find myself culling some books. On Monday afternoon, July 11th, I spent an hour or so trying to clean out my bedroom closet. I don't think that I got very far, but I did manage to cull some books that were stored right at the back. I actually wound up posting eleven books altogether - including my original copy of My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier. Who knew that I had put that book in the back of my closet? - obviously not me - LOL!!!

Anyway, as I said I culled a total of eleven books - two of them were actually doubles of books that I already have. Out of the eleven books that I posted, three of them were snapped up right away. Although, I mailed out a total of four books on Thursday afternoon, July 14th!

One book was actually Mareena's, that she acquired from the latest Library Book Sale that we went to on Tuesday afternoon, June 7th! She read and posted a contemporary mystery called Stranger in the Looking Glass by Jan Fields. Someone actually requested the book right away.

As regards my own reading, the last book that I read was Fortune's Rocks: A Novel by Anita Shreve. Since it only took me a total of six days to read, I was looking for something else to read by Wednesday afternoon, July 13th! I finally settled on reading Sweet Salt Air: A Novel by Barbara Delinsky, which I started on Wednesday night, July 13th! This was a book that arrived in the mail on Monday afternoon, July 11th!

The book had apparently been on my wish list for about three years or so, and since it just recently became available; Mareena requested it for me as her 'just because' gift for July. As I said, the book arrived on Monday afternoon, July 11th and I started reading it on Wednesday night, July 13th!

According to Goodreads - as of today, Saturday, July 16th - I'm currently on page 237 of 406; or approximately 58 percent into the story. Since my own copy of Sweet Salt Air: A Novel by Barbara Delinsky actually has 404 pages; reading 237 of 404 pages means that I've read approximately 59 percent of the story.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight 

Anita Shreve - Fortune's Rocks: A Novel

35. Fortune's Rocks: A Novel by Anita Shreve (1999)
The Fortune's Rocks Series Book 1
Length: 453 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 7 July 2016
Finished: 13 July 2016
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 30 October 2001
Why do I have it? I like historical fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Olympia Biddeford is the only child of a prominent Boston couple. She is a precocious, well-educated young woman - alive with her own radical opinions and flush with the initial stirrings of maturity. On a beach in New Hampshire at the turn of the twentieth century - at a spot known as Fortune's Rocks - she spends her summers with her family at their vacation home. This particular summer will undoubtedly be a life-changing one for her; marked by the arrival of John Haskell - a doctor and a friend of her father's, whose new book about the plight of mill-town laborers has caused a sensation among those in well-to-do Society.

Olympia, herself, is thoroughly captivated by this man - by his intellect, his stature, and his drive to do right - even as she is overwhelmed for the first time by an irresistible sexual desire. She and the doctor - a married man, a father of four, and someone who is nearly three times her age - come together in an unthinkable, torturous, yet hopelessly passionate affair. So, Olympia casts aside any sense of propriety and self-preservation, plunging forward into a disastrous relationship that will ultimately have cataclysmic results. And the price of straying in such an unforgiving era is incredibly steep.

As Olympia is cast out of the only world she has ever known, she suffers the consequences of her choices. This is a profound and poignant story about unwise love and the choices which can transform a life. It is also the story of a remarkable young woman - her determination to reinvent herself and mend her broken life - and claim the one thing she finds she cannot live without.

I must say that I have always enjoyed reading anything by Anita Shreve - in my opinion, she is an absolutely wonderful author - and this book was no exception. Despite having read this book twice before, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. To me, this was a story that poignantly showed just how someone's choices can affect so many more people than just that one person; everyone suffers from the consequences of someone's personal choices - just like the ripples on a pond. Anyway, I would definitely give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

So, I'm Back to Doing 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.

To be perfectly honest, I have never really stopped doing number puzzles. Since I started doing sum-doku puzzles on Monday night, June 20th, I've done approximately 33 puzzles in the puzzle book that I have been focused on doing. I've also been culling through some of my books a little bit; not too much I suppose, just sort of a Spring/Summer Cleaning! As it stands now, I actually have thirteen - not sixteen books - in the box that I brought up from the garage on Sunday afternoon, June 19th!

I culled a total of six books out of the box straight away; read one and posted it; read one and kept it; which leaves five more on my TBR pile. It's slow going I suppose, but I'm getting there. LOL!!!

As regards my reading, the last book that I read was The Unholy by Whitley Strieber. Since it only took me a total of four days to read, I was looking for something else to read by Thursday afternoon, July 7th! I finally settled on reading Fortune's Rocks: A Novel by Anita Shreve, which I started on Thursday afternoon, July 7th! This is actually a reread for me from perhaps twenty years ago.

According to Goodreads - as of today, Monday, July 11th - I'm currently on page 229 of 453; or approximately 50 percent into the story. I'm really enjoying the story; Anita Shreve is such a good author, in my opinion. Anyway, I'm going to get back to cleaning and culling!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Introducing The Flip by Michael Phillip Cash!

I was delighted to learn recently that six books by Michael Phillip Cash will be free to download from Amazon! Yes, for the next three days - from Friday, July 8th to Sunday, July 10th, 2016 - The After House; Brood X: A Firsthand Account of the Great Cicada Invasion; The Flip; The History Major: A Novella; Pokergeist and Witches Protection Program will all be absolutely free!

I had the pleasure of reading The Flip by Michael Phillip Cash back in June of 2014, and have to say, that to my mind Mr. Cash can certainly be counted on to create an appropriately spooky atmosphere with his writing. I've actually had the pleasure of reading four of these six books, and can definitely see why Mr. Cash has won so many awards for his books. I would certainly advise you all to grab your own copy of his work sometime soon - I can guarantee that you won't regret it!

Meet Michael Phillip Cash

Michael Phillip Cash is an award winning and best selling author of horror, paranormal, and science fiction novels. Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island, The Hanging Tree, and Schism: The Battle For Darracia have all been named to Foreword Review's Book of the Year Awards. Michael currently resides on Long Island with his wife and children.

Connect and Socialize with Michael!

Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter

The Flip by Michael Phillip Cash (2014)

Length: 391 pages

Purchase your copy from Amazon!

The Flip Blurb:

Julie and Brad Evans are house flippers. They buy low, clean out the old occupants junk, and try to make a profit. Enter Hemmings House on Bedlam Street in scenic Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island. 

Too good a deal to pass up, but with an ominous secret. The old Victorian Mansion has dwellers that do not want to be dispossessed. As the house reveals it's past, will the couple's marriage survive The Flip?

The Flip Book Trailer:

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Whitley Strieber - Unholy Fire

34. Unholy Fire by Whitley Strieber (1992)

Length: 327 pages 

Genre: Horror
Started: 2 July 2016
Finished: 6 July 2016
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 10 October 2007
Why do I have it? I like horror and have read and enjoyed The Forbidden Zone by the same author in the past.

Father John Rafferty is a dedicated priest, yet he also struggles mightily against the temptation presented to him by one of his beautiful young parishioners - a seductive young woman whom he regularly counsels. Despite faltering in his faith, he nevertheless takes the tenants of his vocation very seriously, and so Fr. Rafferty ministers to those among his parishioners who desperately need his help. As he continues to counsel this troubled young woman, he has no idea how much his faith will ultimately be tested by his confrontation with true evil.

After he discovers the woman's horribly mutilated body in front of the altar of his own church, Fr. Rafferty quickly becomes the prime suspect in her murder. However, as the death toll rises, he begins to suspect that someone close to him - someone with a very obvious and deep-seated hatred of the church is targeting his parishioners in their malevolent killing spree. Yet as each murder increases in brutality, Fr. Rafferty slowly begins to realize that he is battling against something truly diabolical.

As homicide detectives Kitty Pearson and Sam Dowd investigate the case, they struggle to reconcile the evidence that they find with the range of potential suspects. Although all the evidence that the detectives uncover seems to point toward a psychotic murderer, their primary suspect appears to be a dedicated, holy man - a man who seems utterly incapable of inflicting such severe brutality. Sometimes, though, such appearances can be deceiving...

First of all, let me say that this type of story always intrigues me. I'm not sure what it is exactly; maybe it's the supernatural style of the horror, the mysteriousness of the plot, or maybe even the involvement of the Catholic Church, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I'm delighted to say that the story itself held my attention all the way through in an unexpected way. I would definitely give Unholy Fire by Whitley Strieber an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

God Bless America!

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, Independence Day has always held a special meaning for me - my late husband and I both became American citizens in 1988. While I can't remember if our naturalization ceremony actually took place on July 4th of that year, I vividly remember how a ten-year-old Mareena helped her parents study for their exams! She made up flash cards with bullet points about each president's history; the constitution and its amendments; everything having to do with American history that she could possibly think of. Granted, the majority of what she prepared us for wasn't actually on the test - but the thought was there, nonetheless! LOL!!!

Mareena became a American citizen herself on July 4th, 1997 - nine years later. What I remember most about her naturalization ceremony was that the the Mayor of Albany administered her Oath of Allegiance; the television stations covered it all; and at the celebration that was held after she took the Oath of Allegiance, Mareena apparently knew all the lyrics to 'God Bless the U. S. A.' by Lee Greenwood.

Mareena and I also adopted our three adorable kitties on July 4th, 2011. I must say that it was absolutely the best decision that we ever made. Ruby, Leila and Lollipop have all brought us so much joy since they've come into our lives!

Anyway, with regards to my reading, the last book that I read was Charming Billy: A Novel by Alice McDermott. I started reading this book on Monday, June 27th and finished it four days later - on Friday, July 1st! Then I immediately started reading Unholy Fire by Whitley Strieber the next day - on Saturday, July 2nd! This is actually the second book from the box of sixteen that I brought up from my garage back in June.

According to Goodreads - as of today, Monday, July 4th - I'm currently on page 83 of 327; or approximately 25 percent into the story. I haven't read Unholy Fire by Whitley Strieber before, but I did read The Forbidden Zone by Whitley Strieber back in February of 2010 - and here is my review. So far, I'm really enjoying Unholy Fire by Whitley Strieber.

Mareena was 'surfing' the Internet yesterday afternoon, July 3rd and brought something to my attention that she saw posted on Facebook. It was a video about the true story behind Francis Scott Key and his writing of the American National Anthem: 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. Mareena told me that while she knew something about the history of the National Anthem as well as about Francis Scott Key himself; she hadn't heard the entire story behind the writing of 'The Star-Spangled Banner'. When she showed me the video, I was so moved by it that I just had to share it here!

So, I hope that all of you have an absolutely wonderful Independence Day and God bless America!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Alice McDermott - Charming Billy: A Novel

33. Charming Billy: A Novel by Alice McDermott (1998)
Length: 243 pages 
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 27 June 2016
Finished: 1 July 2016
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 21 November 2001
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and Alice McDermott is a new author for me.

The people who knew and loved Billy Lynch the best have all come to comfort his widow Maeve, and to eulogize a man whom many considered to be one of the last great romantics. From all accounts, the late Billy Lynch was such a wonderful man - a man who was an extraordinarily unique soul. As forty-seven members of his funeral party gather together at a local Bronx bar to reminisce over their memories of the past; each trading their own tales of his legendary humor, immense charm, and deepest, most profound sorrow - Billy Lynch will be remembered most by the people whose lives were touched by his presence.

As the mourners linger on into this extraordinary evening, their voices will eventually blend together to tell Billy's own tragic story. What is finally revealed to all present is a complex portrait of an enigmatic man; a loyal friend, a beloved husband, a functional alcoholic. While Billy's loved ones continue to hold Maeve in the highest esteem and admire her strength, there are those among the mourners who cannot remember Billy without also recalling the source of his unfathomable grief and sadness: "There was that girl." Their various stories weave together to become a gentle homage to all the lives in their close-knit community fractured by grief, shattered by secrets, yet sustained by the simple dream of love.

In a voice that is resonant and full of deep feeling, Alice McDermott tells the tale of Billy Lynch within the complex confines of a tightly knit Irish-American community. Charming Billy is a poignant masterpiece about the unbreakable bonds of desire and memory. Ms. McDermott's striking novel, is an intricate study of the lies that bind and the weight of familial love, of the way good intentions can be as destructive as the truth they were meant to hide.

I must say that I really enjoyed reading this book. In my opinion, this was a poignant and well-written story; one that I found both intriguing and intricately detailed. Having said that, I will admit that I found the book somewhat confusing with regards to some of the relationships between the characters and the frequent shifts back and forth between the past and the present. I would still give this book an A! and am happy to note that I have three or four more books by this author on my bookshelf.

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up For June at Moonshine and Rosefire

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Rosefire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog. I originally posted my reviews over at my daughter's blog, Emeraldfire's Bookmark but am now in the process of transferring them all over to my own blog. My daughter makes blogging look like so much fun that I thought that I would try it out for myself! :)

Anyway, I started out June with 1,047 books lying around the house and ended the month with 1,043 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from Paperback Swap, a Library Book Sale that Mareena and I went to on the 7th to celebrate her birthday and Bookmooch.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile

Rereads
- The Last Time They Met: A Novel by Anita Shreve 
- Dark Debts by Karen Hall
- My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- The Castaways: A Novel  by Elin Hilderbrand

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- Absent Friends by S. J. Rozan
- The Dive From Clausen's Pier: A Novel by Ann Packer
- Henry and Clara: A Novel by Thomas Mallon
- I Said Yes to Everything: A Memoir by Lee Grant
- Japan Took the J. A. P. Out of Me by Lisa F. Cook
- Keeping Faith: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
- Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
- Last to Know: A Novel by Elizabeth Adler
- Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury
- Lying Awake: A Novel by Mark Salzman
- A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton
- More Than You Know: A Novel by Beth Gutcheon
- My Theodosia: A Novel by Anya Seton
- An Old Betrayal by Charles Finch
- On the Street Where You Live: A Novel by Mary Higgins Clark
- One Glorious Ambition: The Compassionate Crusade of Dorothea Dix by Jane Kirkpatrick
- The Phantom Coach: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Ghost Stories by Michael Sims
- The Race: A Novel by Richard North Patterson
- Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
- The Spire by Richard North Patterson
- Stone Angel by Carol O'Connell
- A Table by the Window: A Novel of Family Secrets and Heirloom Recipes by Hillary Manton Lodge
- The Tender Bar: A Memoir by J. R. Moehringer
- The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
- Eleanor: The Years Alone by Joseph P. Lash

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Cruel and Unusual by Patricia Cornwell
- Cold Mountain: A Novel by Charles Frazier
- Julian's House: A Novel by Judith Hawkes
- Diabetes A to Z: What You Need to Know About Diabetes - Simply Put by The American Diabetes Association 

- The Complete Diabetic Cookbook by Mary Jane Finsand
- The Return by Bentley Little
- Dark Debts by Karen Hall

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

Books Read: 4
Pages Read: 1,363
Grade Range: A+! to A!

So, there you go! The reading month that was June. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight