The Secret Life of Bees

I finished The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I loved it!  It’s a great story about a young teenage girl who lost her mom to a horrible accident when she was little and is left with her less than desirable father.  The time is the early 60s during the civil rights movement.  Her nanny is a black woman who stick s up for herself and lands in jail.  Lily breaks her out and they head to a small town in South Carolina so that Lily can find out more about her mother.    It’s a wonderful story full of humor, drama, sadness, determination, and the power of optimism!  I look forward to reading other books by Ms. Kidd.

I am now reading Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell.  This is the story of the young woman who decides to cook her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Pretty good so far.

I am also re-reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon.  Her newest Jamie and Clare book, An Echo in the Bone, was sitting on my table for me when I came home Friday!  Misha had bought it for me.  I started to read it, but realized it has been a while since I read Breath and I had read it very quickly, so I have gone back to it first.

So much for keeping up!

Well, I haven’t been great at keeping up with this, but I also haven’t been great at reading!

I did read two more of the Pink Carnation Series – The Seduction of the Crimson Rose and The Deception of the Emerald Ring.  They were good books, still the same great suck-you-in writing, but I think they are slightly losing their charm.  There is one more book out and I know I will read it, but I am not looking forward to it as much.

I have read the first book in The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.  I had heard several really good reviews about this book but, I had the hardest time getting into it.  The first half of the book is spent catching the reader up on the background of Mma. Ramotswe.   While this is important to the story, it was crazy boring.  Once I got into the present day of the book and Mma. Ramotswe started actually taking cases the book really picked up.  I am looking forward to reading the next book.

I finally finished reading Whistling in the Dark.  It ended up being a very good book.  I had such a hard time with this book and only forced myself to finish reading it because I did want to know what happened.  The last 100 pages actually brought the story together very well.  I am still trying to figure out if this is a book that I would recommend.  I am guessing if I have to think about it that would be a no!

I broke down and read Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella.  It was a pretty good book.  I am not sure if I am going to read the rest in the series.  I think had I never read Bridget Jones’ Diary I would have liked this book more.  It just seemed like the poor girl’s Bridget to me.

I am not actually reading anything at the moment, but I think on deck is the next Ladies Detective book, possibly Anne of Green Gables – I have never read them, unbelievable, I know.  Someone at work lent the first two to me and I haven’t got to them yet.  I know that both Jaspar Fforde and Diana Gabaldon have books coming out this fall/winter and I am highly anticipating those books!!!!

Update

Well, I know that I have read several books since I last posted, but I don’t know if I can remember them all.  Here’s a try.

1.  Marely & Me – I thought this was really good, but the ending made me cry terribly.  It reminded me so much of my pup that died 2 years ago that I couldn’t handle it!

2.  The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig – This was a great book!  It is a mix of romance, history, drama, adventure and comedy.  This is the first in a series about a young woman working on her dissertation about spies in 19th century England and France.  As Eloise reads through archives we are transported back in time.  The twist – the spies are females!!!  It’s great.

3.  The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig – Second in the Pink  Carnation series.  It took me a bit to get into this book becuase I really missed the love connection in the first book, but once I was ready to move past that I found the book to be just as good as the first!  I have the third book to read, but haven’t started it.

4.  Whistling in the Dark by I don’t remember who – I still haven’t finished this book.  It is about two young girls in the 40s or 50s with overactive imaginations and a killer on the loose.  I really am not enjoying it much.

This is all I can think of now.  As I remember I will update.  And I will try to keep up better!

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

I LOVED this book!!!  If you have seen the movie and loved it then you will love this, too!   Goldman is a master at winding his first person life into the story of the book.  It’s also amazing how he keeps this whole thing up about doing an abridged version of S. Morgenstern’s book and how Stephen King is Florinese!  It’s just unabelievable.  But, no one else can ever write a book like this, because it has been done and it is awesome!

Ya-Ya

Well, I pushed through the book (see previous post) and I am so glad that I did.  After I got through the first 75 pages I didn’t want to put it down.  I loved everything about it.  Everything.  I spent the last 100 pages doing a lot of crying!  The story between Sidda and her mom and the Ya-Yas was so remarkably woven.  I loved how we saw Vivi move from this seemingly carefree teenager to a dark torchered mother and finally into Sidda’s saving grace.  The movie?  Doesn’t even compare and only covers a pinch of the story.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

I am currently reading the Ya-Ya Sisterhood book.  It’s strange because I am enjoying the story, but I find myself struggling to get through the book.  It feels like it is taking me forever to read it, but, like I do with books I am enjoying, I reflect on the story when I stop reading.  I am thinking about the characters and what is going on and what I think is going to happen and analyzing every little bit.  And yet, I am still struggling while I am actually reading it.  I have never experienced this before and don’t really know what to think about it!  Any thoughts?

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

LOVED IT!!!  I had seen the movie years ago and loved it.  I did not know that it was based on a  book until this summer.  It took me awhile to read  because I was only reading it when I went to the doc’s to get my shots.  I loved the way it was told.  It  bounced back in forth between present and past with such ease, I never had a problem keeping up.  I was sad when the book was over.  I was not ready for the story to be over.

Forever in Blue: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

I read this during the summer, maybe early spring.  Loved it.  I love these books.  I might go back and read these again soon.

Sex and the City: The Movie

This book celebrates the Sex and the City movie.  It is fabulous!!!!  There are great photos and stills from the movie itself that show cases the story and the fashion.  There is also a bunch of background info and little insider tidbits from the cast and crew. 

I could probably read this book everyday!!!!

Girls in Pants: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Of course, since C had number 3 I had to read it as well.  I finished it Sunday morning.  I don’t have enough words for to continue to discuss how much I love these books.  The tone of each one is the same and yet you can tell the characters are growing and changing. 

I think something I love about these books is that it reminds me so much of my friends.  I have several friends that I keep in touch with from high school.  Red and I have been friends for over 25 years.

This book celebrates the summer before the girls go away to college.  It’s very touching.

I look forward to the 4th book that C is supposed to bring me tomorrow.