Read Jan-Nov 2009

21 total

Home to Holly Springs- Jan Karon
Tamar Myers:
Monet Talks
The Cane Mutiny
Between a Wok and a Hard Place
Just Plain Pickled to Death
Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth
Hell Hath No Curry
Grape Expectations
Thou Shalt Not Grill
Eat, Drink, and Be Wary
Three Little Words: A Memoir- Ashley Rhodes-Courter
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built- Alexander McCall Smith
Grave Sight- Charlaine Harris
On the Street Where You Live -Mary Higgins Clark
Embrace Me- Lisa Samson
Tiger Lily- Lisa Samson
The Edge of Town- Dorothy Garlock
The Secret Adversary- Agatha Christie
Dracula's Guest (short story)- Bram Stoker
The Mysterious Affair at Styles- Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd- Agatha Christie

I think I may close this blog.
I was mainly keeping it to record what I've read.
I've found a website that makes it SO much easier than this blog.
It is Goodreads.com

You simply look up the book you want, then add it to your "shelves."
If anyone would like to keep up with me on Goodreads, just leave me a comment or look me up there. :-)

Books I've read since last time:
Thou Shall Not Grill
Grape Expectations
Hell Hath No Curry
- all my Tamar Myers

Currently reading: Dead Days of Summer- Carolyn Hart

Tamar Myers' PennDutch Inn series

255 pages

When a new guest takes a fatal fall down the little PennDutch inn's quaintly steep stairs, Miss Magdalena Yoder, the no-nonsense owner, is more worried about a lawsuit than foul play. Magdalena also has a bushel of other troubles: An arrogant congressman and his wife check in for deer hunting, offending the other guests who are animal-rights activists. Her Amish cook up and quits when vegetarians refuse to eat her hearty Pennsylvania-Dutch cooking. But when a second guest is found stiff, cold, and dead on Magdalena's handmade quilt, she's sure there's a killer somewhere on the premises. (First in the series)



272 pages

It's another case of meals, mayhem and murder in Pennsylvania's Dutch country! Magdalena Yoder's finally getting married, but this special affair is quickly spoiling. The cook preparing the wedding feast has found a corpse in a barrel of sauerkraut--the cousin of Magdalena's bridegroom, a woman reported missing for two decades. And when Magdalena takes it upon herself to find the killer, she soon discovers that one of the key suspects is none other than her beloved! .





272 pages

Ever since her new husband flew the coop, Pennsylvania Dutch inn owner Magdalena Yoder has had plenty of time to kill. But the suspicious death of an Asian tourist proves that time is not the only thing around here that's getting murdered! Magdalena follows the trail to the local Amish community where a dangerous secret is being concealed, and a killer who's really using his noodle awaits! .



I realize I've been a bit lazy about doing book reviews lately (not that I've ever been that great at them anyway ;-)). I have a good excuse. Almost my entire family has the flu.
On the bright side, I've been getting a lot of reading done. :-)

2009 total: 6
pages read: 1,887

The Cane Mutiny & Monet Talks- Tamar Myers

384 pages

Abigail Timberlake Washburn understands the antiques game is a gamble -- so she doesn't know what to expect when she wins the bidding for the contents of an old locker that has been sealed up for years. It's a delightful surprise when she discovers inside a collection of exquisite old walking sticks -- and a not-so-delightful one when she pulls out a decrepit gym bag containing . . . a human skull!

The last thing the diminutive South Carolina antiques dealer needs is to be suspected of foul play. So she grabs her chatty assistant (and future sister-in-law), C.J., and heads out to search for a killer they can stick it to. But this cane case will be no walk in the park -- with its arcane clues hinting at poaching, counterfeiting, smuggling . . . and homicide, of course. And when a fresh corpse turns up, things are about to get really sticky for Abby and her staff of one.

336 pages

Charleston antiques dealer Abigail Timberlake Washburn is thrilled by her recent estate auction purchase of a spectacular bejeweled birdcage from India, but not so much by its occupant, a mouthy mynah named Monet. Still, her customers at the Den of Antiquity seem charmed by the insufferable birdbrain, so Abby figures she's stuck with him. That is, until she finds a stuffed starling resting on his usual perch with a ransom note demanding a real Monet (the painted variety) in exchange for her purloined pet.

Since she doesn't happen to have a priceless masterpiece on hand -- and since a mynahless existence isn't all that distasteful a prospect -- Abby figures she'll let the thief keep the annoying avian. But when her mama Mozella is abducted by the craven birdnapper, Abby must leap into the fray to rescue mater and mynah alike ... before the feathers really start to fly!

These books were light, enjoyable reads. They were just perfect to read while sitting up with a toddler that has insomnia. ;-)

2009 total: 3

pages read: 1,088

Home to Holly Springs- Jan Karon

368 pages

I loved the Mitford series, so I was excited about this book.

Unfortunately, I didn't think it was as good as the Mitford books. It was nice to visit with Fr. Tim again, but this book left me homesick for Mitford. It lacked the charm, humor, and warm-fuzziness of the previous series.

2009 total: 1
pages read: 368

In the Forests of the Night- Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

176 pages

Vampire girl loves a tiger.
Vampire boy kills tiger because vampire girls hunts in his territory.
Vampire girl nearly kills vampire boy, and becomes a stronger vampire.
The end.

2008 total: 34
pages read: 13,988

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

249 pages

Amazon.com Review
Forced to leave her sunny Caribbean home for the bleak Connecticut Colony, Kit Tyler is filled with trepidation. As they sail up the river to Kit's new home, the teasing and moodiness of a young sailor named Nat doesn't help. Still, her unsinkable spirit soon bobs back up. What this spirited teenager doesn't count on, however, is how her aunt and uncle's stern Puritan community will view her. In the colonies of 1687, a girl who swims, wears silk and satin gowns, and talks back to her elders is not only headstrong, she is in grave danger of being regarded as a witch. When Kit befriends an old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, it is more than the ascetics can take: soon Kit is defending her life. Who can she count on as she confronts these angry and suspicious townspeople? A thoroughly exciting and rewarding Newbery Medal winner and ALA Notable Children's Book, Elizabeth George Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond brings this frightening period of witch hysteria to life. Readers will wonder at the power of the mob mentality, and the need for communities in desperate times--even current times--to find a scapegoat. (Ages 9 and older)


I liked this book. Even though it is a children's book, I found it hard to put down.

It gave any interesting picture of life in colonial Connecticut.
The witch hunt was actually a smaller portion of the story than you would expect.
The reasons for suspicion of witchcraft were ridiculous, though I'm sure similar charges were used during the New England witch trials.
All in all, this is a good, delightful read.

2008 total: 33
pages read: 13,812