June'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. June's Book of the Month is: 

The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love: A Novel by Joan Mendlicott

Published as: The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love in April 2000

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Birth Name: Joan A. Mendlicott

Born: 1 January 1932 in Saint Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands

Canonical Name: Joan Mendlicott

Pseudonyms: None

The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love: A Novel by Joan Mendlicott was the fifteenth book that I read in 2017. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since June 5, 2017 and it took me six days to read. This book is a definite keeper for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

At Least the Books That I Have Read so Far Have Been Really Good!

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'm finally getting back into a fairly regular reading routine this month, thank goodness for that! Granted, my reading pace isn't completely back to normal yet, but at least I'm reading more than a book a month - lol! I actually don't know how many books I will read this year, but I know it's going to be a way less total than I'd planned for.

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 236 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! As a matter of fact, I just received another six-pack of sum-doku puzzles through the afternoon mail on Tuesday, May 9th! So far, I've done 94 sum-doku puzzles in one book and 4 in a completely fresh book that I started three days ago - on Sunday, June 25th!

I just might take a hiatus from doing jigsaw puzzles for a while. I feel like I have so much planned that I need to get done each day, but I don't usually get much more done than reading and doing jigsaw puzzles. Oh well, 'the best plans of mice of men often go astray', I suppose!

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love: A Novel by Joan Mendlicott, which I finished on Monday, June 18th! I still haven't chosen another book to read yet, although it isn't because of lack of interest or anything, it's basically because I can't count the number of books that are so intriguing to me that I just can't choose one right now.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I've Not Been Doing Much Reading Lately!

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'm finally getting back into a fairly regular reading routine this month, thank goodness for that! Granted, my reading pace isn't completely back to normal yet, but at least I'm reading more than a book a month - lol! I actually don't know how many books I will read this year, but I know it's going to be a way less total than I'd planned for.

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 233 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! As a matter of fact, I just received another six-pack of sum-doku puzzles through the afternoon mail on Tuesday, May 9th! So far, I've done 92 sum-doku puzzles in one book and 2 in a completely fresh book that I started just this morning.

I just might take a hiatus from doing jigsaw puzzles for a while. I feel like I have so much planned that I need to get done each day, but I don't usually get much more done than reading and doing jigsaw puzzles. Oh well, 'the best plans of mice of men often go astray', I suppose!

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love: A Novel by Joan Mendlicott, which I finished on Monday, June 18th! I think that I may concentrate on doing more number puzzles, until I find another book to read. Although so far, I haven't chosen another book to read.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I Think That I May Start Another Sum-doku Puzzle Book Soon!

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'm finally getting back into a fairly regular reading routine this month, thank goodness for that! Granted, my reading pace isn't completely back to normal yet, but at least I'm reading more than a book a month - lol! I do feel a little bit like I'm in constant catch-up mode, though - :)

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 231 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! As a matter of fact, I just received another six-pack of sum-doku puzzles through the afternoon mail on Tuesday, May 9th! So far, as of this morning, I have done approximately 90 sum-doku puzzles in the newest puzzle book that I have started most recently.

I have also been doing a number of jigsaw puzzles as well. After I finished the 500-piece puzzle of the four cats playing on someone's desk in a study somewhere, I immediately started in on the box of ten jigsaw puzzles that I purchased on Friday, April 14th! I actually just finished that box very early this morning - Tuesday, June 20th! The reason why it took me so long to do all jigsaw puzzles was because I kept locating puzzle pieces that were missing from a few of them.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love: A Novel by Joan Mendlicott, which I finished on Monday, June 18th! I think that I may concentrate on doing more number puzzles, until I find another book to read. Although so far, I haven't chosen another book to read.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I Think That I'll Take a Break From Doing Jigsaw Puzzles For a While!

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'm finally getting back into a fairly regular reading routine this month, thank goodness for that! Granted, my reading pace isn't completely back to normal yet, but at least I'm reading more than a book a month - lol! I do feel a little bit like I'm in constant catch-up mode, though - :)

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 228 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! As a matter of fact, I just received another six-pack of sum-doku puzzles through the afternoon mail on Tuesday, May 9th! So far, as of this morning, I have done approximately 84 sum-doku puzzles in the newest puzzle book that I have started most recently.

I have also been doing a number of jigsaw puzzles as well. After I finished the 500-piece puzzle of the four cats playing on someone's desk in a study somewhere, I immediately started in on the box of ten jigsaw puzzles that I purchased on Friday, April 14th! I actually just finished that box very early this morning - Tuesday, June 20th! The reason why it took me so long to do all jigsaw puzzles was because I kept locating puzzle pieces that were missing from a few of them.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love: A Novel by Joan Mendlicott, which I finished on Monday, June 18th! I think that I may concentrate on doing more number puzzles, until I find another book to read. Mareena says that she will help me if I need her to.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Joan Mendlicott - The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love: A Novel

15. The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love: A Novel by Joan Medlicottt (2000)

The Ladies of Covington Series Book 1

Length: 371 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 12 June 2017
Finished: 18 June 2017
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 5 June 2017
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

The harsh circumstances of life have brought together three very different women of "a certain age" in a Pennsylvania boardinghouse where the most any of them can hope for is a sagging bed and three square meals a day. Grace Singleton is an extraordinarily cautious woman who remains uncertain of her place in such an intimidating world; Hannah Parrish may be outspoken about a great many things, but she harbors a profoundly private fear that could change her life forever; Amelia Declose is a fragile soul who has been shattered by devastating grief. These three ladies may be as different as can be, yet their friendship will ultimately lead them all to experience the adventure of their lifetimes.

Their friendship will take take them on an extraordinary journey to North Carolina - and to a dilapidated farmhouse where the unexpected suddenly seems delightfully promising. Such startling changes will not only seem entirely welcome, but also come as a sweet surprise to each woman. As each lady travels along on this shared adventure, they will be surprised to find that the years they have managed to reclaim from the shadows of twilight just may be the best years of their lives. Years which will offer something infinitely more precious and rare: confidence, competence, and even another chance at love...

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; in my opinion, it is a truly delightful story. This was certainly easy reading for me, but there was just enough going on in the plot to hold my attention all the way through the story. While this isn't completely a 'fluffy, feel good' story, I appreciated that it also wasn't entirely dark and depressing - I would give this book an A!

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

We Still Haven't Found Time to go to the Library, Which is Surprising!

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'm finally getting back into a fairly regular reading routine this month, thank goodness for that! Granted, my reading pace isn't completely back to normal yet, but at least I'm reading more than a book a month - lol! I do feel a little bit like I'm in constant catch-up mode, though - :)

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 223 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! As a matter of fact, I just received another six-pack of sum-doku puzzles through the afternoon mail on Tuesday, May 9th! So far, as of this morning, I have done approximately 74 sum-doku puzzles in the newest puzzle book that I have started most recently.

I have also been doing a number of jigsaw puzzles as well. After I finished the 500-piece puzzle of the four cats playing on someone's desk in a study somewhere, I immediately started in on the box of ten jigsaw puzzles that I purchased on Friday, April 14th! I don't know if I have finished all the puzzles as yet, but I think that I'm well on my way to doing that.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler which I finished on Monday, June 12th! I immediately started reading The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love: A Novel by Joan Mendlicott. Mareena told me that this was the second surprise 'just because' gift that she wanted me to have for June. She thought that since I had enjoyed the first book by Joan Mendlicott that I had read, I would enjoy reading her second choice for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Anne Tyler - Celestial Navigation

14. Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler (1974)
Length: 248 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 2 June 2017
Finished: 12 June 2017
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 June 2017
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

In the fall of 1960, Amanda Pauling is surprised when she and her sister Laura receive a disturbing phone call from their younger brother in the middle of the night. According to Jeremy's relatively matter-of-fact tone, "I wanted to tell you about Mama. She has passed on." His reaction just seems awfully peculiar given the circumstances; distant and strangely unemotional.

Actually, Jeremy Pauling has never left home. He is a thirty-eight-year-old bachelor who lives simply and quietly on the top floor of his mother's Baltimore boardinghouse. Meanwhile, his elderly mother putters around in the rooms below, and takes in a few down-on-their-luck boarders for little or no rent. Mother and son have lived together in this way for several years - Jeremy quietly creating his vast collection of collages of little people snipped from wrapping paper, and his mother taking responsibility for everything else in their lives.

Amanda was never particularly close to their mother herself, but she is surprised that her brother's voice sounds so passive as he speaks about their mother's death. He just seems totally baffled by the situation; and racked by uncertainties about what he should do next. Apparently, this is another reason why he has called his sisters: to ask them to make the proper arrangements. It appears that their mother died suddenly and left Jeremy alone.

To be perfectly honest, Amanda has always felt slightly resentful of their mother's relationship with her only son. In her opinion, the relationship was an inordinately close one; fostered by the sudden abandonment of their father. In the aftermath of her husband's abandonment of herself and their family, she appears to care more about her son's emotional wellbeing; than she does for both of her daughters'. As children, Jeremy always seemed to get the majority of their mother's attention; while Amanda and Laura were basically expected to fend for themselves.

Amanda firmly believes that their mother's persistent coddling of him only made Jeremy's eccentric behavior worse. She never seemed to expect very much from her son, and so Jeremy never felt that he needed to act any differently. Amanda truly believes that his strangeness can be overcome - he just needs to take responsibility for himself, and stop living in his own little world. Although, Jeremy has always disliked having to live like normal people.

Their mother only ever saw Jeremy's eccentric behavior as a sign of his creativity. He's an extraordinarily talented artist, yet he has always had significant trouble connecting with the outside world. Amanda secretly hopes that their mother's death will be just the impetus Jeremy needs to pull himself together and take responsibility for his own life.

Perhaps...But Amanda doesn't realize just how closely Jeremy resembles one of his own creations - a soul that is fragile and easily damaged. And neither of his sisters fully understand just how much courage it takes for Jeremy to voluntarily interact with the outside world. As a matter of fact, nobody can see how much Jeremy's life will change with the sudden arrival of Mary Tell and her little girl, Darcy.

I must say that this book wasn't anything like Anne Tyler's typical works. In my opinion, this was an intriguing story and a unique premise. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would certainly give this book an A! I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

A! - (90-95%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Despite Curbing the Influx of Books Somewhat This Year, I'm Noticing That I'm Still Finding Books That I Have Forgotten I Had!

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'm finally getting back into a fairly regular reading routine this month, thank goodness for that! Granted, my reading pace isn't completely back to normal yet, but at least I'm reading more than a book a month - lol! I do feel a little bit like I'm in constant catch-up mode, though - :)

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 217 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! As a matter of fact, I just received another six-pack of sum-doku puzzles through the afternoon mail on Tuesday, May 9th! So far, as of this morning, I have done approximately 62 sum-doku puzzles in the newest puzzle book that I have started most recently.

I have also been doing a number of jigsaw puzzles as well. After I finished the 500-piece puzzle of the four cats playing on someone's desk in a study somewhere, I immediately started in on the box of ten jigsaw puzzles that I purchased on Friday, April 14th! I don't know if I have finished all the puzzles as yet, but I think that I'm well on my way to doing that.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was Back When we Were Grownups: A Novel by Anne Tyler which I finished on Friday, May 19th! After setting aside The Shroud Key by Vincent Zandri on Monday, May 29th, I was at a temporary loss for what to read next. Then Mareena surprised me with the arrival of a new Anne Tyler book that she had requested a while ago. I started reading Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler on Friday, June 2nd - and I love it!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I'm Still Reading, But Not Much Else is Getting Done!

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'm finally getting back into a fairly regular reading routine this month, thank goodness for that! Granted, my reading pace isn't completely back to normal yet, but at least I'm reading more than a book a month - lol! I do feel a little bit like I'm in constant catch-up mode, though - :)

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 215 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! As a matter of fact, I just received another six-pack of sum-doku puzzles through the afternoon mail on Tuesday, May 9th! So far, as of this morning, I have done approximately 58 sum-doku puzzles in the newest puzzle book that I have started most recently.

I have also been doing a number of jigsaw puzzles as well. After I finished the 500-piece puzzle of the four cats playing on someone's desk in a study somewhere, I immediately started in on the box of ten jigsaw puzzles that I purchased on Friday, April 14th! I don't know if I have finished all the puzzles as yet, but I think that I'm well on my way to doing that.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was Back When we Were Grownups: A Novel by Anne Tyler which I finished on Friday, May 19th! After setting aside The Shroud Key by Vincent Zandri on Monday, May 29th, I was at a temporary loss for what to read next. Then Mareena surprised me with the arrival of a new Anne Tyler book that she had requested a while ago. I started reading Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler on Friday, June 2nd - and although I haven't gotten that far into the story yet, it's starting out very well!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I Think That This Year is Going to my Worst Year as Regards Reading, But I'm Not Sure!

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'm finally getting back into a fairly regular reading routine this month, thank goodness for that! Granted, my reading pace isn't completely back to normal yet, but at least I'm reading more than a book a month - lol! I do feel a little bit like I'm in constant catch-up mode, though - :)

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 213 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! As a matter of fact, I just received another six-pack of sum-doku puzzles through the afternoon mail on Tuesday, May 9th! So far, as of this morning, I have done approximately 54 sum-doku puzzles in the newest puzzle book that I have started most recently.

I have also been doing a number of jigsaw puzzles as well. After I finished the 500-piece puzzle of the four cats playing on someone's desk in a study somewhere, I immediately started in on the box of ten jigsaw puzzles that I purchased on Friday, April 14th! I don't know if I have finished all the puzzles as yet, but I think that I'm well on my way to doing that.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was Back When we Were Grownups: A Novel by Anne Tyler which I finished on Friday, May 19th! After setting aside The Shroud Key by Vincent Zandri on Monday, May 29th, I was at a temporary loss for what to read next. Then Mareena surprised me with the arrival of a new Anne Tyler book that she had requested a while ago. I started reading Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler on Friday, June 2nd - and although I haven't gotten that far into the story yet, it's starting out very well!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

I'm Reading at a Much Slower Pace Than Usual!

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'm finally getting back into a fairly regular reading routine this month, thank goodness for that! Granted, my reading pace isn't completely back to normal yet, but at least I'm reading more than a book a month - lol! I do feel a little bit like I'm in constant catch-up mode, though - :)

I'm actually still working through an amazing backlog of crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles from the newspaper. So far, I've done approximately 209 sudoku and crossword puzzles from the newspaper, although I have also done some sum-doku puzzles from my puzzle books, too! As a matter of fact, I just received another six-pack of sum-doku puzzles through the afternoon mail on Tuesday, May 9th! So far, as of this morning, I have done approximately 52 sum-doku puzzles in the newest puzzle book that I have started most recently.

I have also been doing a number of jigsaw puzzles as well. After I finished the 500-piece puzzle of the four cats playing on someone's desk in a study somewhere, I immediately started in on the box of ten jigsaw puzzles that I purchased on Friday, April 14th! I don't know if I have finished all the puzzles as yet, but I think that I'm well on my way to doing that.

As regards my own reading, the most recent book that I've read was Back When we Were Grownups: A Novel by Anne Tyler which I finished on Friday, May 19th! After setting aside The Shroud Key by Vincent Zandri on Monday, May 29th, I was at a temporary loss for what to read next. Then Mareena surprised me with the arrival of a new Anne Tyler book that she had requested a while ago. I started reading Celestial Navigation by Anne Tyler yesterday - Friday, June 2nd - and although I haven't gotten that far into the story yet, it's starting out very well!

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up For May 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 May with 1,058 books lying around the house and ended the month with 1,055 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from Penny Dell Puzzles and Bookmooch.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile

Rereads
- Errands: A Novel by Judith Guest
- Back When we Were Grownups: A Novel by Anne Tyler

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Indignation: A Novel by Philip Roth

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- Collector's Series Sum-Doku Puzzles 6-pack: (Volumes 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22) by Dell Magazines
- Tutankhamun: The Untold Story by Thomas Hoving

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

- The Vanishing: A Novel by Wendy Webb
- Secrets by Danielle Steel
- Indignation: A Novel by Philip Roth

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: 852
Grade Range: A+!

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