Audio CDs I'm Listening To This January 2014

I've had some surgery this fall that's made it difficult for me to keep up with all the books I wanted to catch up with from 2013, so I've decided to "read" a few of them via audio book.  Here are some of the ones I've chosen to start the year out.  I hope you'll like them when review time comes up, and that you may decide to listen along with me!OVERVIEW of "Light in the Ruins":From Barnes & NobleWhile World War II raged all around...

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Favorite Books of the Year 2013

Rounding out the year, I took a leading from one of my favorite bloggers, Kathy of Bermudaonion , and thought I would let you know what my favorite books in several categories were.  I'm just going to give a quick list with a couple of pictures to jog your memories.  You can search for the full reviews if you take a notion, by checking out the "search" tool to the left of the page.  :]MOST UNUSUALThe Returned by Jason MottThe...

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Book Haul~End of December 2013

Oh, dear....end of December Book Haul.  I've named it.  Everything looks so white...  It was a slow couple of weeks, so I'm guessing the publishers were taking some time out for the holiday season, rightly so.  I was.  This year I gave gift certificates to several of my children and grands for books and sent a bunch of books, too.  But didn't buy any for myself.  Instead I boxed up a HUGE number of books I have...

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"The Luminaries" by Eleanor Catton~Man Booker Prize Winner

SUMMARY :Winner of the 2013 Man Booker Prize and Canada's Governor General's Literary Award, a breathtaking feat of storytelling where everything is connected, but nothing is as it seems....It is 1866, and young Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On the stormy night of his arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men who have men in secret to discuss a series of unexplained events: A wealthy...

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"Woman of Ill Fame" by Erika Mailman~Gold Rush Romp!

SUMMARY :Looking for a better life, Nora Simms sails from the East Coast to gold rush San Francisco with a plan for success: to strike it rich by trading on her good looks. But when a string of murders claims several of her fellow “women of ill fame,” Nora grows uneasy with how closely linked all of the victims are to her. Even her rise to the top of her profession and a move to the fashionable part of town don’t shelter her from the danger,...

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"The Gravity of Birds" by Tracy Guzeman-Lost Love and Art World

SUMMARY :A debut novel already destined to be a book club favorite. “With its deft interweaving of psychological complexity and riveting narrative momentum, with its gorgeous prose and poetic justice, The Gravity of Birds is about sibling rivalry, tragedies, and resurrections. And it’s irresistibly exquisite” (San Francisco Chronicle). Forty-four years after the brilliant young painter, Thomas Bayber, first meets Alice and Natalie Kessler, Bayber...

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December TBR Pile & Father Christmas Update

    It's already halfway through the month of December and I have had so many hopes for reading this month!  It looks like I'm only going to be able to get through a small list of books on my To Be Read list, however, due to the usual parties and other plans having to do with my health issues and doctors' appointments.Here's my list of books I'm hoping to get read this month regardless of the above!1)   The Bone...

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Audiobooks~December 2013

SUMMARY :Poignant, raw, and insightful, Jennifer Gilmore's third novel is an unforgettable story of love, family, and motherhood. With a "voice [that is] at turns wise and barbed with sharp humor" (Vanity Fair), Gilmore lays bare the story of one couple's ardent desire for a child and their emotional journey through adoption. Jesse and Ramon are a loving couple, but after years spent unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant, they turn to adoption, relieved...

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"Castles, Customs, and Kings..." ~ Historical Fiction True Tales

SUMMARY :A compilation of essays/"True Tales by the English Historical Fiction Authors" blog, this book provides a wealth of historical information from Roman Britain to early twentieth century England. Over fifty different authors share hundreds of real life stories and tantalizing tidbits discovered while doing research for their own historical novels. From Queen Boadicea's revolt to Tudor ladies-in-waiting, from Regency dining and dress to...

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