Water for Elephants

This will be a harder post for me - I have heard so many good things about this book, Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. So, as soon as it came up ready for me - I started right in - well, I got MAYBE 20 pages and ran into quite a descriptive scene - WAY TOO MUCH info. for me. I thought, "No, people really like this - I'm going to keep going." Another 50 pages and yep, ANOTHER OVERLY descriptive scene - needless to say, I skipped to the end to get the main storyline figured out and ran into a few more "scenes" along the way so - no, I didn't finish it. I liked the storyline - set in the early part of the Great Depression - college veterinary student making his way through school - his parents are killed - he runs out of money for college - he decides to look for another path - happens upon a circus train - joins up with the circus as their "vet" - meets the girl of his dreams (who is already married), etc. I don't read much about circus life and that intrigued me AND the fact that many people have told me it was a good read, but with circus life comes raunchy sex scenes, I guess. I don't need those so I give up the book. (Yep, my conservative side is coming out!!)

The Myth of You and Me

Having just finished The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart, I almost want to pick it up and read it again. I know I missed so many good things the first time around - it was just one of those books - the characters were deep, the storyline was wonderful, and the whole "take" on friendship was one you just want to think over again and again. Now, as often is the case, I don't condone everything that happened in the book, it is definately NOT a christian novel, but it was a great story leaving you with a lot to think about!!!

Never Too Little To Love

Here's a "goodie" for Valentine's Day (or any day for that matter) - Never Too Little To Love by Jeanne Willis. This is just a wonderful children's book about a little mouse that loves something too tall to reach. We find out later in the book that it is a giraffe and the giraffe will have to bend down to make this work!! Absolutely adorable illustrations by Jan Fearnley - the pages are cleverly done with the mouse climbing on things to try to reach the giraffe. It's a good one - you won't be disappointed!!!

The Birth House

Just finished The Birth House by Ami McKay - it was one of those I could not put down. I love the concept - a midwife going around to all the local women and helping them give birth - she knew the tricks and the secrets and she was successful. However, advancements happen and an "experienced" doctor moves into town and threatens to end the midwife's trade. The story is enthralling - all of the details are wonderful and add to the authenticity of the novel. The main character, Dora Rare, learns her trade of midwifery from Miss Babineau and she strives to keep that trade alive even though the new doctor wants it ended. We follow Dora's very tough life - from a loser-of-a-husband to a scandal that forces her to leave her hometown - she leads a hard life, but comes out stronger. I'd love to see it end differently - maybe more resolved, but it is still a pleasing-ending and a book I thoroughly enjoyed!!

The Children Of Men

Surprise Today - We have a guest reviewer - my husband, Joe, read this one and I asked him to give a review. So here it is: The Children of Men by P.D. James.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The story was set about twenty or so years in the future and focused on a major dilemma for the human race. For some
unknown reason the entire human race became infertile and no one on earth was capable of producing children. The author effectively communicates the
distress that would be caused if one knew their species was about to become extinct. The author spends a considerable amount of time discussing the diminishing influence of Christianity and seems to attribute the infertility
problem with the lack of a moral center. I enjoyed the story and would
love to see a sequel written.

Online Novel - The Gecko and Sticky

I just found this online and I love it - I think I'm going to have my boys read along, in fact. The Gecko and Sticky in.....the Villian's Lair is an online novel where the author, Wendelin Van Draanen, publishes one chapter each week - complete with discussion questions and classroom activities. VanDraanen is the author of a wonderful series for 3rd-6th Grades/Jr. High called Shredderman. This series is always checked out at our library so although I haven't read it - I am assuming it is well-liked! Looks fun to me and very boy-friendly - and sometimes "boy" novels are hard to come by!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I have been told to read this book for some time now and finally got around to it. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is the story of an autistic child told through his eyes. There are few books I've read that tell the story of an autistic person through his/her words. This one does - it is very interesting - just reading from his viewpoint open new understanding for me and what he can do mathematically almost frightens me!! It was a hard book to read though - it is absolutely amazing how hard his life is with autism and then how it's made even harder by parents that are having affairs, getting divorced, can't get along, etc. I hated the ending - it just left me with no resolution and I really wanted him to have a resolved future with his dad and mom, but all-in-all it was an enlightening read. Went very quickly too - a great, short read.

The Inheritance of Loss

About all I can on this one is, "I finished it." I was reading it for an online book club I like to take part in, but wow - it was one of those books that I had to literally push through to finish. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai is set mostly in India and deals with a conflict there between India and Nepal - but that is almost all I can tell you about the conflict and I read the whole book - I never quite understood what was going on. The characters could have been so much more appealing with stronger characterization - I never felt connected to any of them - the only reason I kept reading was to see how it all ended up. Guess I could have skipped to the ending for that! Beautiful writing - but really lacking in appeal to me - shoot, I was hoping for a good one.