Belle Weather by Celia Rivenbark

Belle Weather: Sunny With a Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits. This was a reread. I just couldn't help it, it makes me laugh. I've seen it written that you should "think Dave Barry with a female point of view." I think that should have been "with a southern female's point of view." She speaks on matters that many of us can relate to. My favorite book of hers is "Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank: A Slightly Tarneshed Southern Belle's Words of Wisdom. I'm out to get another of her books, probably "You Can't Drink All Day Unless You Start In the Morning."

Quote: Who can fail to mist at Fergie's anthem, 'My humps, my humps, my lovely lady lumps.' Hummm. 'My lunch, my lunch, I swear it's coming up.'

About the book

Celia

The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin

I enjoyed this one nearly as much as the first one, The Mistress of the Art of Death. In this book, Adelia did not use her skills as a mistress of the art of death, but her powers of observation and keen intelligence were in play. I liked the sense of time and place, medieval England. She captures the atmosphere of life during this time, especially for women and for the underclass who were at the mercy those above them.The mystery was not as engaging and the second half of the book seemed to drag a little. Even so, I liked it a lot. Now looking for the third in the series!

Excerpt

About the book

Reading guide

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The Devil's Punchbowl by Greg Iles

I listened to this book and found it to be quite a gripping thriller. The good guys were good and the bad guys were BAD. Some of the scenes were a tad too gritty for me. Had I been reading this I would have probably skipped a few of those pages. This is, of course, the third in Iles' Penn Cage series. I'll probably go get the first two.

About the book
Review in the Dallas Morning News
Greg Iles

Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

I couldn't wait to read this, the latest Stephanie Plum adventure. I really needed it after the last two books I read. It was funny, entertaining and outrageous. As usual. It was fun to ride along with Stephanie, Lula and Connie as they contemplated throwing stink bombs into a really bad guy's house to rescue Vinnie. There is potential for lots of change in the next book with everything that happened here. Plus she still has me guessing: Ranger or Morelli?

Quotes: "I'm wearing four-inch slut shoes. I can't kick a door down in slut shoes. It isn't done. You need boots to kick a door down. Everyone knows that."

"Vinnie lived in a large yellow-and-white colonial in Pennington. It looked like a house a normal person would own, but it belonged to Vinnie."

About the book
About Janet

Nineteen Miniutes by Judy Picoult

I cried off and on all the way through this tragic story. I know it is one that will remain with me. Besides thoroughly delving both sides of the shootings of students by another student that had been bullied nearly all his school career the author inserted as many incidentally sad elements as she could come up with and write in. Suicide, death of a family pet, abortion, abusive relationships, the death of a child/sibling (not related to the shootings), unconnected/distant parents, Yikes! It was all too much for me. It will be a while before I attempt another book by this author. I'm not saying it wasn't good, it was. Just not my cup of tea at this time. It left me feeling hopeless. The "twist" at the end didn't work for me, it didn't feel right for the character.


Quote: "When you don't fit in you become superhuman. You can feel everyone else's eyes on you, stuck like Velcro. You can hear a whisper about you from a mile away. You can disappear even though it still looks like you are standing right there. You can scream and nobody hears a sound. You become the mutant who fell in the vat of acid, the joker who can't remove his mask, the bionic man who's missing all his limbs and none of his heart. You are the thing that used to be normal, but that was so long ago you can't even remember what it was like."


Interview with Picoult
Excerpt

City of Thieves by David Benioff

I found this novel, set during the WWII Blockade of Leningrad, to be a compelling read. I could not put it down. The picture it draws of the lives the people had to lead during that time was chilling. It is a war story and a coming of age story with a little romance. There is humor and horror of war told from the view of the 17 year old main character. I recommend this book.

About the book

Excerpt
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Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

I've been wanting to read this book for awhile and, with luck, found it among the books on sale at my favorite bookstore. YEA! It is a sort of medieval CSI. The thoughts and actions of several of the characters did seem a little too modern for the time period but it IS a work of fiction. I enjoyed sense of time and place, the mystery was compelling, it was a great read. I'm going to go get the next book in the series now.

About the book/research/excerpt
Ariana Franklin

The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

This is the 11th novel in this wonderful series and I loved it as much as the first one. I can't say enough good things about this series. At 224 pages it is not a long read, none of them are, but it is packed with warmth, wisdom and gentle humor. Besides coming to know the characters and loving them I enjoy reading about Botswana and learning about life there. If you haven't read any of these you should. Start with the first one and work your way up, you won't be sorry. Get ye to your library!

Quotes: Do not complain about your life. Do not blame others for things that you have brought upon yourself. Be content with who you are and where you are, and do whatever you can do to bring to others such contentment, and joy, and understanding that you have managed to find yourself.

"Listen to me, Mma," she said. "Your nephew still loves you. If you do not wish to lose him forever, then you must listen to what I say and you must remember it. Love without freedom is like a fire without air. A fire without air goes out. Do you understand me,Mma?"

Alexander McCall Smith
About the book
Excerpt
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I can't believe I've waited so late in my life to read Pride and Prejudice. I did not realize there would be so much humor here. I loved it. Jane Austen had a wonderful sense of the absurd. I also enjoyed visiting the time period and following the characters through their days.

Jane Austen's House Museum

Info at Wikipedia

About Jane Austen

Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti

First of all, I love this cover, it drew me to the book in the first place. I really enjoyed this work of fantasy, it had a little of everything: romance, suspense, mystery. However there were no paranormal aspects, which was refreshing. It was a little on the steampunk side in that great machines and technology worked in a world that still used horse and cart for transportation. The author did a great job in her world building. The characters were wonderful, well written and none of them were too good to be true. All in all a great read. I will read more books from this author.

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The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen

I got this as a freebie on my Kindle and even though I don't read much in the way of romance I found this Regency to be charming and very entertaining. I enjoyed learning of the apothecary trade of the early 1800's. The characters were well written, I really got to know and care about them. The main character had several suitors and you didn't really know who she would end up with till close to the end. As with most romance novels I've read the characters mealy mouthed around their feelings and no one was sure of what anyone else was thinking. I will read another book by this author, probably "The Silent Governess."

Excerpt

Julie Klassen

About the book.

Dead Man Talking by Casey Daniels

This is the 5th book in the Pepper Martin series and I have enjoyed them all. This light supernatural mystery finds Pepper participating in a reality show for local viewing: Cemetery Survivor. What a hoot. Team one is made up of local socialites while Pepper's team is made up of parolees. The ghost she dealt with this time hadn't been murdered but had been framed for a murder. Pepper maintains a good heart and a sense of style as she works through her problems.

About the book.
About the author.
The author's site.