Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan

Let me say that, first of all, the title and the books cover are both misleading. (Also an editor told me that apostrophes are used too much and therefore I have left out the one that I think should be the word 'book' used previously.) At any rate I picked this book off the shelf at (where else) Goodwill. Why? Because the title cover looked like the words inside would be whimsical and flowery to go with the cover which has some beautiful, blue wisteria above two chairs at a table with a bottle of wine on top of it. It looks airy and outdoorsy and full of a promise of a middle-aged woman having her revenge. I thought, "This should be fun."

But not so, really. No.

This middle-aged woman was a doormat to other's wants and desires and she lost everything bit by bit because she had no fight or revenge in her. She just let things happen to her. She tried to be too nice under any and all circumstances which got her exactly nowhere. So the title is all wrong.

It should be something like Middle Aged-Woman Gets Nothing, Nada, Zero.

Well you will have to read it to see what she doesn't get because I don't like to give all the story away because no one would need to read the books I have read. Let's say that if you have just been ditched by your husband of many years for a younger woman then don't read this because it won't lift your spirits if you have any left. You may think that misery loves company but you should just be trying to crawl out of your own hole at this time in your life and not someone elses. Whether you dug that hole yourself or were put in it by another, think twice before you read on.

I'd say that book was not one of the ones I have read lately that grabbed me and wouldn't let me go.

In fact I have let it go which is exactly what some relationships need ... to be freed. But don't give up without a fight and some revenge in you. At least you will have a back bone!



Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg

I literally read this one straight through this past Sunday on the couch!!! That's right. I admit it. I love how Fannie Flagg writes. (You remember Fried Green Tomatoes, don't you?). At any rate, my eyes had to adjust to seeing long distance by the end of the day but it was all worth it.

Why? Because you'll get involved with the characters from the get go in this novel. You wont want to leave them even to get a cup of tea or fulfill a bathroom break. But necessities will call and your couch will stay warm for you as you dash back to continue reading about the folks who live in the small town of Elmwood Springs (meets Bedford Falls).

I won't give it all away but life in Elmwood has been touched by Mrs. Elner Shimfissle (where did Fannie get that one?) with her wisdom and kindness to all her neighbors, relatives and strangers. Did she ever meet a stranger?

What would we do without her?

That's the question.

Also the question is, "What comes first ... the chicken or the egg?"

Enjoy this heartwarming read. It would be a good one for the upcoming holidays. I found mine ... you guessed it ... at my Goodwill store.



The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

OK. Just go ahead and tell yourself that life as you know it is about to be put on hold because you will be reading this book. Don't even pick it up if you have a project due or a thesis to write. Why? Because you  may only stop to eat or sleep or stretch your legs and you also may find yourself side clicking your friends who are calling you on their Smart Phones to see if you have left the planet.

And the answer to that one is "No", but you are "Not Available At This Time", so they will just have to "leave a message and you'll get back to them" as soon as you read all 543 pages. I highly recommend the paperback because when you read it in bed you don't want it to fall and hit you on your head and give you a concussion. Then you wouldn't be able to finish this book while you were in the ER recouping or possibly in a comma.

At any rate ... this novel is good. Could you tell?

You will be transported to Africa where a missionary family goes through trials and tribulations, each one separately as individuals in their togetherness as a family in the 1960's. It's hot, buggy, rainy, dry and full of natives who do not believe in Jesus. Oh no! And here you are as a young girl, a zealous father, a suffering wife who all have to come to terms with their lives in this god forsaken plot of the planet earth or be swallowed up by the jungle. Either the natives will conform or you will, by God or by shaman.

I would have caught an alligator home a.s.a.p. if I had been put in this situation.

But since you are not really there you can be glad you don't have to sleep under a mosquito net for fear of malaria or eat bugs to stave off hunger.  You can relax and keep reading about what it would be like if you were Orleanna, Ruth May, Leah, or Adah Price. You get to be in their brains but not in the patriarch's scrambled synapses, Hallelujah and Amen.

Look there's more than one yellow brick road to get to the almighty Wizard of Oz but there's no place like home. Moral of this book?

Don't go to Africa in the 1960's unless you've brought your ruby red slippers. Don't forget to have them firmly on your feet and click them three times.



Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand

 

 

Another great summer read by Elin Hilderbrand. Thank you!

 

I picked this one up at my local Rite Aid because I saw it and that was the end of it. So saving a few bucks buying something at the Goodwill or off someone else's shelf didn't apply.

 

Note to self: If you see a Hilderbrand, grab it, and go straight home and begin reading it. Who cares if it cost $14.99 in paperback? Other things on your list to do? Really? Go hide, don't pass Go and don't collect $100. Curl up in your favorite reading spot and pretend you are without phone, TV or internet. It's just you and the paper you hold in your hands bound together to make a page turner that you get caught up in and sleep is something you can dream about.

 

OK, so you could wait and check it out at your neighborhood library but some things just can't wait. Am I right?

 

Again, Elin caught the summer fever in a small town, this time Nantucket, that gets too crowded during the summer tourist season when all the people from up North migrate south to fill up the parking spaces and the local hang outs.

 

But this summer it begins at the end of school and graduation when life begins for some and ends for others.

 

Tragedy strikes and the lives of the locals travel in different directions from what had been planned. Does it pull everyone together or pull them apart?

 

You'll have to read to find out and you won't want to put this one down.

CAUSE of DEATH by PATRICIA CORNWELL

This book was given to me by my father who got it off of his book shelf, "Here's a good one for you to read."

So I brought it home and read it. It was different. But it was good to read.

Here was a murder that kept you wondering at all the what, where, and why of events and how to connect them before the author did it for you. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is the main character. She is a medical examiner. It's cold and you can feel it seeping through her bones as she peers at ones brutally attacked and murdered below water or above ground. Are these two killings connected? If so, how? Two very different people with two very different life styles.

And she knows both of them.

What was the reason behind their deaths? Is it possible they were on the same track? Was a religious fanatical group involved? Political? Would it be the end of the world as she knew it?

Tread lightly and be careful or it'll blow up in your face, Kay.



DEADLOCKED by Charlaine Harris

You guessed it. I am a Sookie fan and proud of it.

Here's to the next in the series I have read and enjoyed. This one was handed over to me by my daughter after she read it.

I'm not telling you anything new when I say you can't put a good Sookie down, can you? You sneak a little read in with your morning coffee and then will yourself to put the book down so you can get on with your day. Once the coast is clear and you have done your 9-5 or your neverending-to-do-list-for-the-day, you grab Charlaine's words and hide if you have to under the dining room table where the family eats only during a big holiday, in order to see what's up in Bon Temps with Sookie, Eric, Bill, Sam, Pam and all the hosts of vampires, werewolves, fairies, and what-nots whose lives never get dull. That's right. But don't think you know all there is to know about these "folks" because Charlaine Harris has put a twist to all their abilities that you did not know these creatures possessed. You can't believe all you've seen in the movies or read in books up until this point. Just take Charlaine's words for it.

I encourage you to sink your teeth into the next in line series book. It will fill you up but leave you wanting more.

the beach street knitting society and yarn club by Gil McNeil

Here's a great Summer Book for you to read. It's really great. I think you will enjoy it, my blog fans!!!

If you are a knitter then it's even better for you. You'll want to own your grandmother's little "wool store in her sleepy seaside hometown". But you will find out that it's all but sleepy on the coast of England where everyone knows everyone else and they come together when there is a crisis. Whether that crisis is looking after your two rambunctious boys so you can orchestrate your new "Stitch and Bitch" gathering that takes place at night in the room above the store every week or whether it's helping you to set up your newly widowed, young life. You can count on the villagers.

Who could have predicted that you'd be moving from the noise and bustle of London to a seaside village with your two boys and all your stuff packed in a car?

But you learn that life goes on and you with it.

Pick up this book if you can find it at your local Goodwill as I did or go to the Library. You will not be disappointed.

Thanks, Gil. Can't wait to find and read the sequel, Needles and Pearls.