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:

The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage

  Published as: The Doctor's Wife in June 2005

Publisher: Viking Adult

Birth Name: Elizabeth Brundage

Born: in New Jersey

Canonical Name: Elizabeth Brundage

Pseudonyms: None

The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage was the ninth book that I read in 2017. I have had this book on my TBR pile since February 21, 2017 and it took me a week to read. I sent this book off to another good home on March 13, 2017

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I'm Not Really Suffering From Reader's Block, More Like a 'I Don't Know What to Read Next' Reader's Block!

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 haven't really been doing that much lately. Actually, I really haven't been feeling all that well for the past couple of weeks. I do have a doctor's appointment next month, but since I keep a good eye on my blood sugar levels, I'm not that worried about my diabetes.

I'm having some difficulty walking properly, but mentioning that to the doctor has only resulted in being told that she couldn't do anything more than prescribe Tylenol for me. I know that it sounds like she thinks I'm a hypochondriac or something, but that's not it: I'm just on a medication that would react badly with Advil. So, basically the only pain reliever that I can take is Tylenol.

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 143 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! I have also started doing jigsaw puzzles again as well. So far - or as of Monday afternoon, March 27th, at least - I've done seven jigsaw puzzles out of the giant box of twelve that I have.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage which I finished on Friday, March 3rd! Actually, I have one other book by this author on my bookshelf already, although The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage is the first book of hers that I have read. I suppose it makes sense since this was also Ms. Brundage's debut novel.

I started reading Psychward by Stephen B. Seager, M. D. on Thursday, March 9th! This is actually a reread for me from approximately six and a half years ago. Although I've read 70 pages out of 251 - approximately 28 percent of the book by Sunday, March 12th - my reading pace is still remarkably slow.

I've since put the book aside for a while - and although I have spent the last two weeks trying to find another book to read - Mareena just let me know that she had requested a book for me several months ago, and that it arrived two days ago. I think that my Reader's Block is finally working itself out!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I Just Can't Seem to Concentrate on my Reading!

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 haven't really been doing that much lately. Actually, I really haven't been feeling all that well for the past couple of weeks. I do have a doctor's appointment next month, but since I keep a good eye on my blood sugar levels, I'm not that worried about my diabetes.

I'm having some difficulty walking properly, but mentioning that to the doctor has only resulted in being told that she couldn't do anything more than prescribe Tylenol for me. I know that it sounds like she thinks I'm a hypochondriac or something, but that's not it: I'm just on a medication that would react badly with Advil. So, basically the only pain reliever that I can take is Tylenol.

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 140 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! I have also started doing jigsaw puzzles again as well. So far - or as of Friday afternoon, March 24th, at least - I've done six jigsaw puzzles out of the giant box of twelve that I have.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage which I finished on Friday, March 3rd! Actually, I have one other book by this author on my bookshelf already, although The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage is the first book of hers that I have read. I suppose it makes sense since this was also Ms. Brundage's debut novel.

I started reading Psychward by Stephen B. Seager, M. D. on Thursday, March 9th! This is actually a reread for me from approximately six and a half years ago. Although I've read 70 pages out of 251 - approximately 28 percent of the book by Sunday, March 12th - my reading pace is remarkably slow. I've since put the book aside for a while, but for some reason can not settle on another book that I want to read.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Does Anyone Else Get Minor Cases of Reader's Block?

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 haven't really been doing that much lately. Actually, I really haven't been feeling all that well for the past couple of weeks. I do have a doctor's appointment next month, but since I keep a good eye on my blood sugar levels, I'm not that worried about my diabetes.

I'm having some difficulty walking properly, but mentioning that to the doctor has only resulted in being told that she couldn't do anything more than prescribe Tylenol for me. I know that it sounds like she thinks I'm a hypochondriac or something, but that's not it: I'm just on a medication that would react badly with Advil. So, basically the only pain reliever that I can take is Tylenol.

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 137 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! I have also started doing jigsaw puzzles again as well. So far - or as of Tuesday afternoon, March 21st, at least - I've done five jigsaw puzzles out of the giant box of twelve that I have.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage which I finished on Friday, March 3rd! Actually, I have one other book by this author on my bookshelf already, although The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage is the first book of hers that I have read. I suppose it makes sense since this was also Ms. Brundage's debut novel.

I started reading Psychward by Stephen B. Seager, M. D. on Thursday, March 9th! This is actually a reread for me from approximately six and a half years ago. Although I've read 70 pages out of 251 - approximately 28 percent of the book by Sunday, March 12th - my reading pace is remarkably slow. I've put the book aside for a while, but for some reason can not settle on another book that I want to read.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I May Not be Reading Much, But I'm Certainly Doing a Lot of 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 haven't really been doing that much lately. Actually, I really haven't been feeling all that well for the past couple of weeks. I do have a doctor's appointment next month, but since I keep a good eye on my blood sugar levels, I'm not that worried about my diabetes.

I'm having some difficulty walking properly, but mentioning that to the doctor has only resulted in being told that she couldn't do anything more than prescribe Tylenol for me. I know that it sounds like she thinks I'm a hypochondriac or something, but that's not it: I'm just on a medication that would react badly with Advil. So, basically the only pain reliever that I can take is Tylenol.

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 134 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! I have also started doing jigsaw puzzles again as well. So far - or as of Saturday afternoon, March 18th, at least - I've done four jigsaw puzzles out of the giant box of twelve that I have.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage which I finished on Friday, March 3rd! Actually, I have one other book by this author on my bookshelf already, although The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage is the first book of hers that I have read. I suppose it makes sense since this was also Ms. Brundage's debut novel.

I started reading Psychward by Stephen B. Seager, M. D. on Thursday, March 9th! This is actually a reread for me from approximately six and a half years ago. Although I've read 70 pages out of 251 - approximately 28 percent of the book by Sunday, March 12th - my reading pace is remarkably slow. I may just put the book aside for a while and then pick it up again later.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

May You All Have a Much Blessed St. Patrick's Day!

  

We hope that all of our lovely family and dear friends - both in real life as well as online - have a safe and holy St. Patrick's day. May you all have a wonderfully peaceful celebration full of fun, food, and happiness! ☘️☘️☘️

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Technically, I'm Not Suffering From Reader's Block!

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 haven't really been doing that much lately. Actually, I really haven't been feeling all that well for the past couple of weeks. I do have a doctor's appointment next month, but since I keep a good eye on my blood sugar levels, I'm not that worried about my diabetes.

I'm having some difficulty walking properly, but mentioning that to the doctor has only resulted in being told that she couldn't do anything more than prescribe Tylenol for me. I know that it sounds like she thinks I'm a hypochondriac or something, but that's not it: I'm just on a medication that would react badly with Advil. So, basically the only pain reliever that I can take is Tylenol.

Anyway, on Saturday afternoon, March 11th - Mareena finally located a movie on the 'On Demand' Channel that she had told me about a couple of weeks ago. She said that she could not recall the name of it, but that the movie was actually about a woman who moves into an apartment that may or may not be haunted. Since she knows that I have always enjoyed watching movies about haunted houses - just like I enjoy reading books about haunted houses - she thought that I would like to watch the movie.

Well, the movie was actually called Havenhurst and was released in 2016. It wasn't exactly what Mareena had described to me, but it was still very good. There was a subplot involving the first documented American serial killer, in modern times at least - H. H. Holmes - and was really quite intriguing.

Mareena and I had actually watched a documentary together about H. H. Holmes several years ago. There had been speculation put forward in that documentary that some of the places that he had frequented were actually haunted - not necessarily by his ghost, but by the spirits of some of his victims. According to this documentary, Holmes may or may not have been Jack the Ripper as well. To be perfectly honest - while I do believe in the paranormal - I'm not sure about those claims of Holmes' victims hauntings. Although the Jack the Ripper theory seemed highly plausible.

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 129 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! I have also started doing jigsaw puzzles again as well.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage which I finished on Friday, March 3rd! Actually, I have one other book by this author on my bookshelf already, although The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage is the first book of hers that I have read. I suppose it makes sense since this was also Ms. Brundage's debut novel.

I started reading Psychward by Stephen B. Seager, M. D. on Thursday, March 9th! This is actually a reread for me from approximately six and a half years ago. Although I've read 70 pages out of 251 - approximately 28 percent of the book by Sunday, March 12th - my reading pace is remarkably slow. I may just put the book aside for a while and then pick it up again later.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Sometimes I Rewrite Some of my Previous Reviews!

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.

Actually, Mareena and I have been watching several very intriguing movies on television. As I have said before, we watched PBS' 'Masterpiece' television adaptation of Jane Austen's classic Northanger Abbey on Sunday, February 26th! Then, on Tuesday, February 28th, we decided to watch another movie on the 'On Demand' Channel called Ouija: Origin of Evil. While this movie was released in 2016, it is actually the prequel to a 2014 movie.

We had watched the DVD of Ouija several years ago - although, despite enjoying that movie very much - we were also curious about whether there would be a sequel to it, because we wanted to know more about the initial characters and their background. Well, we watched the prequel movie on Tuesday, February 28th! I have to admit that it dealt with the whole concept of possession and hauntings in an intriguing way.

Then yesterday afternoon - Saturday, March 11th - Mareena finally located a movie on the 'On Demand' Channel that she had told me about a week ago. She said that she could not recall the name of it, but that the movie was actually about a woman who moves into an apartment that may or may not be haunted. Anyway, since she knows that I have always enjoyed watching movies about haunted houses - just like I enjoy reading books about haunted houses - she thought that I would like to watch the movie.

Well, the movie was actually called Havenhurst and was released in 2016. It wasn't exactly what Mareena had described to me, but it was still very good. There was a subplot involving the first documented American serial killer, in modern times at least - H. H. Holmes - and was really quite intriguing.

Mareena and I had actually watched a documentary together about H. H. Holmes several years ago. There had been speculation put forward in that documentary that some of the places that he had frequented were actually haunted - not necessarily by his ghost, but by the spirits of some of his victims. According to this documentary, Holmes may or may not have been Jack the Ripper as well. To be perfectly honest - while I do believe in the paranormal - I'm not sure about those claims of Holmes' victims hauntings. Although the Jack the Ripper theory seemed highly plausible.

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 126 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! I have also started doing jigsaw puzzles again as well.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage which I finished on Friday, March 3rd! Actually, I have one other book by this author on my bookshelf already, although The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage is the first book of hers that I have read. I suppose it makes sense since this was also Ms. Brundage's debut novel.

I have just started reading Psychward by Stephen B. Seager, M. D. this morning, Thursday, March 9th! This is a reread for me from approximately six and a half years ago. It is also the third book that I've actually reread, and I plan to rewrite my review. The last book that I revised the review of was Maeve Binchy's The Copper Beech. According to Goodreads - as of today, March 12th - I've actually read 70 pages out of 251 in Psychward by Stephen B. Seager; or approximately 28 percent.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I'm Back to Rereading Some of my Books!

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.

Actually, Mareena and I have been watching several very intriguing movies on television. As I have said before, we watched PBS' 'Masterpiece' television adaptation of Jane Austen's classic Northanger Abbey on Sunday, February 26th! Then, on Tuesday, February 28th, we decided to watch another movie on the 'On Demand' Channel called Ouija: Origin of Evil. While this movie was released in 2016, it is actually the prequel to a 2014 movie.

We had watched the DVD of Ouija several years ago - although, despite enjoying that movie very much - we were also curious about whether there would be a sequel to it, because we wanted to know more about the initial characters and their background. Well, we watched the prequel movie on Tuesday, February 28th! I have to admit that it dealt with the whole concept of possession and hauntings in an intriguing way.

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 123 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! I have also started doing jigsaw puzzles again as well.

I am really getting my money's worth out of the box of twelve puzzles. I've already done all of them at least twice, and am planning on a third time sometime very soon. Actually, I'm only doing these puzzles again because some of them were missing several pieces and I was just checking on how many there were.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage which I finished on Friday, March 3rd! Actually, I have one other book by this author on my bookshelf already, although The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage is the first book of hers that I have read. I suppose it makes sense since this was also Ms. Brundage's debut novel.

I immediately started reading Mom Kills Kids and Self: A Novel by Alan Saperstein on Saturday, March 4th. I'm not quite sure what happened for me with this book, but I just couldn't get into the plot. I posted it on several book swapping websites that Mareena and I belong to on Monday, March 6th! I have just started reading Psychward by Stephen B. Seager, M. D. this morning, Thursday, March 9th! This is a reread for me from approximately six and a half years ago.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I'm Looking For Something Else to Read!

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.

Since there was a women's basketball game being played on Sunday afternoon, February 26th Mareena and I had the day off from the radio station. Apparently, the game started at 1:00 P. M. and because the pregame show started at 12:30 P. M., we asked the hosts of the radio show that is on before ours to cover for us until the pregame show started. So, we wound up being able to watch PBS' 'Masterpiece' television adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel Northanger Abbey.

Actually, Mareena has told me that she has a copy of the book although she has never read it. I vaguely remember reading several of Jane Austen's novels when I was in school - even Northanger Abbey - although I don't think that I could tell Mareena anything about the story. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the show!

To be perfectly honest, I would have to say that many of Jane Austen's novels that I read while I was going to school were rather boring! I don't know why this should have been the case - because I generally loved reading, loved school, loved most of my teachers, and loved everything about the subject of English. Anyway, the television adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey was very intriguing, and I'm actually looking forward to reading this book again some time soon. Perhaps with the span of several decades between me and my first reading of it, my impressions will change.

Other than that, I haven't really been all that busy these days. I've been doing all types of puzzles, and reading of course, but I really haven't been doing much of anything else for the past few days. I may have to put down my books and puzzles until I can get my housework back under control...maybe!?!

I'm also still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 120 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! Actually, I just finished another one of the puzzle books from my collection about three weeks ago - on Saturday, February 11th - as well as a Jumbo Crossword Puzzle book early last Sunday - Sunday, February 26th!

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage which I finished on Friday, March 3rd! Actually, I have one other book by this author on my bookshelf already, although The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage is the first book of hers that I have read. I suppose it makes sense since this was also Ms. Brundage's debut novel.

I immediately started reading Mom Kills Kids and Self: A Novel by Alan Saperstein on Saturday, March 4th. I'm not quite sure what happened for me with this book, but I just couldn't get into the plot. To be perfectly honest, this was the second time that I had tried to read the book, and both times I found myself unable to read any further than about page 20 or so. It's a pity that I couldn't get into the story because it seemed intriguing to me, but I have since posted the book on all the book swapping websites that we belong to so that someone else can read the book.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Elizabeth Brundage - The Doctor's Wife: A Novel

9. The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage (2004)
Length: 342 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 24 February 2017
Finished: 3 March 2017

Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 21 February 2017

Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and Elizabeth Brundage is a new author for me.

The Knowles family has it all - at least that is the pervasive opinion of everyone who views the family from the outside. Michael and Annie Knowles have been happily married for a decade and have two beautiful children. They both have successful careers and live in a rambling Federal-style farmhouse in High Meadow, New York. While the couple may seem to be living in their own perfect little world, not everything is quite as perfect as it appears.

Michael Knowles is a rising star in the field of obstetrics and gynecology at a prominent private practice in Albany, New York. He also moonlights at a local women's health clinic as well. His wife, Annie teaches at a Catholic college for women just outside of town. Although she has only been teaching for just under a year, her courses are incredibly popular with her students.

Annie may understand her husband's stressful schedule, but she has also become extremely tired of his constant absences. It seems as if Michael is always on call for his patients, but has almost no time left for her or his children. Annie is certainly lonely; and it is beginning to feel like her role as faithful wife, loving mother, and dutiful teacher has worn thin. She needs something to make her feel alive again; something more than just making bagged lunches for her kids, making excuses for her husband, and making up syllabi for her classes.

Enter celebrity painter Simon Haas, whose bad-boy persona captures Annie's attention and interest. To Annie, Simon is everything that Michael is not: creative and passionate, and truly enticing to her soul. He is married to his model and muse, Lydia, a woman who Simon has essentially built his career around. However, Simon and Annie begin a torrid love affair with each other, and Annie discovers that she has so much more to offer someone than just being 'the doctor's wife'.

Her relationship with Simon reawakens Annie's passion - but events soon take a dark turn for the Knowles family. The family begins receiving a series of anonymous threats. The reasons behind this increasing intimidation are not entirely clear...

Michael has seemingly made many enemies of his own: primarily religious extremists who are opposed to his medical practice. Although, are the most violent threats actually meant for Annie? Because she has also made at least one definite enemy in town: someone who has a cellar full of their own dark secrets. Told from the alternating perspectives of four fascinating and extraordinarily complex characters: Michael, Annie, Simon, and Lydia - The Doctor's Wife by Elizabeth Brundage is a stunning debut novel; a compelling and compulsively readable story that is steeped in psychological suspense, intricate plot twists and intriguing mystery.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; as this is Ms. Brundage's debut novel, I thought it was actually quite an intriguing plot. In my opinion, the story just proved to me that if a person has the desire to do something, they can justify having to resort to any course of action to achieve that desire. I would give this book a definite A!

A! - (90-95%)

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 1,056 books lying around the house and ended the month with 1,053 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from a friend and Paperback Swap.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile

Rereads
- The Copper Beech by Maeve Binchy 

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Debbie: My Life by Debbie Reynolds and David Patrick Columbia
- The Remains by Vincent Zandri

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- The Corruptions by Vincent Zandri

- The Guilty by Vincent Zandri

- The Shroud Key by Vincent Zandri

- When Shadows Come by Vincent Zandri
- The Doomsday Scroll by Barbara Rogers
- The Doctor's Wife: A Novel by Elizabeth Brundage

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))

- Homecoming by Belva Plain
- Mothers and Daughters by Evan Hunter
- Summer of Roses by Luanne Rice
- Debbie: My Life by Debbie Reynolds and David Patrick Columbia
- A Day in the Life of Ireland Photographed by 75 of the World's Leading Photojournalists on One Day May 17, 1991 by Collins Publishers
- The Remains by Vincent Zandri

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

Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 1,037
Grade Range: A+! to A!

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