It's Monday, What Are You Reading? ~ June 10

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Read Last Week:

  

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs: I love Mercy Thompson! This book was one of the best I have read in the series, hands down. Review up Wednesday.

Ladies' Night by Mary Kay Andrews: I really loved this one as well! I love Andrews books and this was no exception. Review up Tuesday.

Reading This Week:

  

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill: I am trying this again. I just didn't get to it the last time I planned to read it.

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini: I am looking forward to reading this!!! 

Next Monday, I will be reading and reviewing The World's Strongest Librarian - and I will be giving away a copy to a lucky reader! Make sure you pop by to find out how to enter!

May Book Club

Hostess: Chrissy
Book: Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Hayes
Food:  Lemon Pasta Salad, Veggies and dip, cucumber and feta salad, cheese and crackers, crescent rolls- and homemade ice cream, chocolate and strawberry.
Month: May
Wine of the Night:

Chrissy’s house is a burst of color in summery colors, yellow and grass green.  Cheery and bright, perfect for a spring book club meeting. She had her Fiestaware bowls lined up on the counter, all ready to be filled with her homemade ice cream, and it was so visually appealing, with the colors and the line, I had to take a picture.  I wish I would have remembered to get one of the ice cream!

I arrived first to see if Chrissy needed any help (because I am such a good sister-in-law lol) but she had everything under control. As everyone trickled in and relaxed, we started with the food.

I think I ate my weight at book club that night. That lemon pasta salad was amazing, and I could have eaten it all day.  I am a fan of anything lemon flavored, and lemon pasta in the spring can’t be beat. And the ice cream – so rich and creamy. My favorite was the chocolate, but the strawberry had chunks of real strawberries in it. Jill made the set up her own little TCBY, and added every topping to her ice cream. 

Click on pic for recipe and original post

Chrissy and I were the only ones who had finished the book this month, and we had loved it.  Mary is right in the middle of it, and is loving it as well. If you are interested, here is my review. 

Conversation eventually turned into the normal conversations that happen at our book clubs. Alyssa brought up a few funny anecdotes from my past as well.  We talked about other books we were reading, about what was happening in our lives, and I mentioned how I have certain book types for all my friends. Some overlap, but I have certain kinds that I recommend to them all.  With Alyssa, if a book is crazy or twisted, I tell her about it. With Chrissy, I can go that way too, and I also tell her about thrillers that she might like. Jill, if I read anything that is literary or British, that is what I tell her. Mary and Kelly, romance novels and contemporary writers. Jennifer, memoirs, books about farming, and the outdoors is what we have in reading common. I am sure I drive them crazy, but at the same time, I love when they tell me about a book that I would love. Because I normally do love it.  I feel like if you know someone well enough to recommend a book to them and have them like it, then you really know that person. I feel like we all know each other that well, and I feel like this a testimony to our friendship.

June is Kelly’s month, I am looking forward to reading what she picks!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? ~ June 3

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Read Last Week:

I totally didn't read the two books I had planned on. Instead, I read these:

  

The Land of Mango Sunsets by Dorothea Benton Frank: I had checked out a complete listing of Frank's books, and realized I had missed a few. I am working on fixing that, and this took care of one.

Crazy Enough by Storm Large: I won this many months ago from Jennifer at The Relentless Reader. I had put it in a pile on my desk, and finally pulled it out to read. And I freaking loved it. 

We also had book club on Thursday, I will be posting my blog about it soon!

Reading This Week:

  

Seasons of the Sacred Earth by Cliff Seruntine: This is taking me some time to read. 

Ladies' Night by Mary Kay Andrews: I have this pre-ordered through Amazon and I can't wait to get it!

Eating Kimchi and Nodding Politely by Alex Clermont: Anything with food stuffs in the title and you have me. 

Detroit Magpies ..I also started working on another blog, in collaboration with my friend Jill. Its about our lives, about Detroit, about whatever. I hope you will check it out!

Reviews Posted Last Week:

  

  

Return to Sullivan's Island, The Biscuit Witch, and Yankee Doodle Dixie are all here.... Short Thoughts on a Few Southern Books

Sweet Valley Confidential

Sweet Valley Confidential - Review

Title: Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later
Author: Francine Pascal
Source: Library

Goodreads Summary:

Now with this striking new adult novel from author and creator Francine Pascal, millions of devoted fans can finally return to the idyllic Sweet Valley, home of the phenomenally successful book series and franchise. Iconic and beloved identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are back and all grown up, dealing with the complicated adult world of love, careers, betrayal, and sisterhood. 






My thoughts:

This book will never win any awards. But it is definitely a fun way to spend a few hours laying on your bed  reading lazily and indulgently.

This book was pure camp. I saw it on the shelves of the library and snatched it up. I couldn't wait to read it. I had to laugh at myself, it made me think of when I was in middle school and acted the same way over the Sweet Valley High books, my introduction to the twins. I feel as a preteen I learned so much from Elizabeth and Jessica.  I learned that if you snort coke and have a heart murmur, you could die instantly and that you could die of TSS from leaving a tampon in too long. Not that I ever would have thought about trying cocaine! I had too much Elizabeth in me for that kind of rebellion, although I was like Jessica as well.  I wanted to be Lila Fowler though, and date Bruce, with his sports car and vanity license plate that said 1Bruce1.

Sweet Valley Confidential revisits these moments and characters. This time though, the twins are older, in their late twenties, and finding their way in the world. Elizabeth works in New York as an entertainment journalist, drinks, has casual sex, and swears. It was like a whole new Elizabeth! But deep down she still had the same moral code as always. Jessica lives in Sweet Valley still, has a fiancee, and works at a cosmetics company. Most importantly, Elizabeth and Jessica have not spoken for 8 long months.  You learn through a series of flashbacks (that get a little old honestly, especially when Jessica lapses into Valley Girl speak) what caused this rift that may never be reconciled. Or will it?

Like I said, this book will never be considered anything more than it is, a fun piece of fluff. As long as a book is entertaining and enjoyable, it is enough for me sometimes. And this book was not only entertaining, it was a welcome trip down memory lane.

Short Thoughts on a few Southern Books

Return to Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank

I really enjoyed this book! Although I found the main character Beth to be very naive and make really stupid decisions, I had to remember that she was young and I am..older. And wiser. I found the energy of this book to be quick, and the imagery gorgeous. If only I had a house on Sullivan's Island!

Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton

Super adorable cover, not as adorable book. We read this for my online book club with my family (called Let's Read Y'all).  The book however was not the best. Not one of us liked the main character Leelee - she was thought to be selfish and prudish, depending on who you talked to. The blurb says that Leelee can't say no and that gets her into trouble; I beg to differ. I think what gets her in trouble is simply poor decision making. We all thought she did exactly what she wanted to do, which sometimes had the least desirable results.

Biscuit Witch by Deborah Smith

I did not care for this book. I don't know if it was how I was reading it or how it was formatted, but I had a hard time understanding whose point of view I was reading. Which seemed to switch a lot and without warning. I chose not to finish this book somewhere near the beginning.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Read Last Week:

Return to Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank: This was a fun and enjoyable read. I loved reading all the bits about the island! Review tomorrow.

Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton: I read this for my family online book club; we all hated Leelee the main character! Review tomorrow. 

Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal: I saw this while walking the stacks at the library and had to read it!!!! I was such a fan growing up, I had to see what this new book was like. It was exactly like I thought it would be - a walk down memory lane with characters I was very familiar with.  Review Wednesday. 

Reading This Week:

  

  

Seasons of the Sacred Earth by Cliff Seruntine: I saw this on NetGalley and thought it looked interesting. 

Nos4a2 by Joe Hill: Because he is scary!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Read Last Week:

Nothing...

I was so restless last week. Nothing I started to read was good, nothing I ate was any good, I couldn't settle down. I think it was the sudden change in weather - it went from 20 degrees to 80 degrees almost overnight. I feel like this week is going to be better for me. 

I did get some reviews done.  I finished my reviews for:

(click on link for my review)

  

 

Reading This Week:

  

Return to Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank: I love this author, and when I saw this on Sheila from Book Journey's blog, I realized I missed this one somehow! And then I found it at a garage sale Saturday for fifty cents!

Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton: This is for my online book club that I started with my family. It looks pretty good!