Updates

I've been away for awhile, but I'm back.  I am making some changes to my blog to make it even better. I will still post reviews of the books me and others read, but now I have added genre pages for your convenience. Now, you can find listings and reviews from Amish Romances to Merrytime (Holiday) reading. I posted a new book review earlier, and I will have more in the days to come.  Happy reading!!!!

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolf

A Vintage Affair

Author: Isabel Wolf

Published By: Bantam Books

Date Published: June 29, 2010

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Pages: 346

Recommended Age: Adults

Reviewed By: Me

Rating: B/4

I borrowed it from the library

Summary:

Phoebe Swift owns a boutique dealing with vintage clothing called Village Vintage.  She is also dealing with the loss of her best friend and her guilt over the part she played in her friend’s death.  While at an elderly Frenchwoman, Thérèse Bell’s apartment looking through old clothes she may buy she comes across a child’s sky-blue coat, an item which Bell is stubbornly reluctant to part with.  As she becomes friends with the dying Thérèse, Thérèse tells her the story of why she will never part with the coat. Hearing the tale, Phoebe discovers a connection between herself and Thérèse, one that will heal her own pain and help her to love once again.

My Thoughts:

I am surprised that I actually like this book. When my book club voted on what book to read this month, I had voted against this book and was disappointed it got majority of the votes.  It didn’t seem like a book I would choose to read on my own…a book about clothes, really? 

It is well written and easy to read. Yes, it talks a lot about clothes. It talks about the designer, the year the clothing was made and the costs, but it also tells the history of who last wore the dress, pants, or even the accessories like a purse. It seems that some of the clothing gave the women courage to do things they felt they couldn’t do on their own, like blow the whistle on their bosses, or break up with an overbearing and bossy boyfriend.  Some of the stories are quite touching such as the story of the Jewish girl during WWII, which has a big part in making the book more interesting for me as I am fascinated by stories of WWII and the plight of the Jewish people during the war. A Vintage Affair is emotionally tugging and I found myself crying towards the end of the book.

I gave A Vintage Affair four stars and a grade of B because I enjoyed the book and found myself actually wanting to finish it, and not dragging my feet, kicking and screaming through it because I had to have it read for my book club. If you like contemporary fiction, I recommend A Vintage Affair by the internationally bestselling author, Isabel Wolff.

Parents:

Language: none

Adult Content: Talks about concentration camps from WWII and other forms of death, some sex

Violence: none

Interview with New York Times Best Selling Author Denise Swanson

I have a special surprise for all my followers.  Today, I am interviewing New York Timesbestselling author of the much popular Scumble River Mysteries Denise Swanson. 

Me: Thank you for being so willing to speak to me on My Reading Rainbow.  So what inspired you to start writing the Scumble River Mysteries, or more precisely where did you get the idea?

Denise Swanson: Scumble River is inspired by Coal City, my hometown, along with the two adjacent towns of Braidwood and Wilmington. As a school psychologist myself, my sleuth, Skye Denison's profession was a natural. A lot of her adventures, with the exception of finding a dead body, were inspired by my own experiences while working in the public education.

Me: I remember the first book I picked up of yours was the fifth book in the Scumble River Mysteries because the title, Murder of a Barbie and Ken, caught my attention.  Actually, my eyes just saw the words Murder of Barbie and Ken.  Barbie and Ken being an icon and something I played with as I child that I wondered how you could murder Barbie and Ken. It seems you have such a knack for coming up with some good titles for your books as you did it again with the second book in your new series; the title being Nickeled and Dimed to Death.  Please, tell us how you come up with these eye-grabbing titles?

Denise Swanson: Most of the titles are from my own imagination, but occasionally my editor comes up with a better one than I do. Her assistant actually suggested Murder of a Barbie and Ken. I was calling the book Murder of a Sacred Cow, which everyone at my publishing house hated. For Nickeled-and-Dimed to Death, I did a web search for any phrase that had dime in it because I wanted tie the book to the dime store theme. And every once in a while, the title comes to me before the story, which was the case for my September release, Murder of a Stacked Librarian.

Me: With media trying telling us that woman should have a small figure and be model-worthy beautiful, it was a fantastic idea that you made Skye Dennison of Scumble River an average woman with the average weight issues.  Did you know that would be a great seller with your readers, and that is why you went that route instead of making her sound like a Barbie?

Denise Swanson: Since I've struggled with my own weight and self-image for so many years, and I knew other women had these issues as well, I thought Skye would be a heroine with whom many people could identify. As a voracious reader, myself, it always annoyed me that all the main characters were so beautiful and perfect. Back in 1997 when I started writing Skye, there were few if any characters like her. But now, I seem to have started a trend. ;)

Me: Please, tell us something about your new series, the Devereaux’s Dime Store Mysteries.

Denise Swanson: Devereaux’s Dime Store Mysteries are about a woman who when faced with several situations she can't control—her boss pulled a Ponzi scheme so she can no longer work in the world of finance making her MBA worthless, her father is in prison for vehicular manslaughter, and her grandmother's memory is failing—decides to buy the dime store in her hometown and take care of her grandmother. She has two close friends, Poppy who owns Gossip Central, the local hot spot, and Boone a small town lawyer. In order to help her profit margin, Dev has added a basket making business to the dime store. It includes erotic baskets, and in the first book, the contents of one of those erotic baskets are used to murder Dev's ex-boyfriend's fiancé.

Me: Lastly, Ms. Swanson, do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Denise Swanson: My best piece of advice is to remember it's not how good you are, it's how bad you want it. Keep writing. Keep polishing. And most of all, keep submitting.

            Thank you again for chatting with me.  My followers may want to check out Denise Swanson’s new book Murder of a Stacked Librarian, which hits the shelves at your nearest Barnes & Noble store on September 3^rd.

You can also check out her latest book from her Devereaux’s Dime Store series, Nickeled and Dimed to Death, which is on the shelves now.

Me Reading a Book

This is me, finally getting to read the latest Devereax's Dime Store Mystery.

Out to Canaan, by Jan Karon

Out to Canaan (Fourth Novel in Bestselling Mitford Series)

Author: Jan Karon
Published By: Penguin Books
Date Published: April 1, 1998
Genre: Christian, fiction
Pages: 342
Recommended Age: Adult
Reviewed By: Theresa My Reading Rainbow
Rating: 5



This book is from my personal collection.

Summary:
Change is coming to the Mitford. Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his wife Cynthia are pondering retirement. A man is running for mayor against the town’s beloved mayor and is calling for aggressive development.  A suspicious realtor with plans for a health spa is eyeing the beloved house on the hill; and, worst of all, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed reading Out to Canaan by Jan Karon. I love the character of Fr. Tim, his wife Cynthia, and his adopted son Doolley. I love how Jan Karon weaved a mystery around the new mayoral candidate and the out-of-town realtors.

I enjoy reading the Mitford series. Jan Karon draws a picture of a small mountain town in North Carolina. Karon has a way of pulling the reader into the town and making him or her part of the town. The reader comes to love the town citizens and do not want them to be taken advantage of and misused by the out-of-towners and the richest woman in the town.  The reader knows as much as is going on in Mitford as Fr. Tim does.

I plan on reading the fifth book in the series and I recommend that you pick up the Mitford series.  The best part of the series you can read them in order or start with any book; it’s not a To Be Continue series.  But I guarantee you that whatever Mitford book you start with you are going to want to read the whole series when you are done.  For these reasons, I give Out to Canaan by Jan Karon five stars and a grade of A+.



Parents:
Language: None
Adult Content: None
Violence: None

The Life of Thomas More, by Peter Ackroyd

Book Title: The Life of Thomas More

Author: Peter Ackroyd

Published By: Nan A. Talese 

Date Published: October 20th 1998

Genre: Biography 

Pages: 464

Recommended Age: Adult

Reviewed By: Me

Rating: B/4

This book is from my personal collection.

Summary:

This book tells the life of Thomas More, one the most noteworthy figures in history. He was a brilliant lawyer of his time, author of the classic novel Utopia, and a Catholic martyr and saint who was beheaded when he refused to follow King Henry VIII in severing ties from the Catholic Church.

My Thoughts:

I quite enjoyed this book. I liked that Peter Ackroyd would described the streets that young Thomas More walked from his house to the school he attended.  Ackroyd would bring Thomas More’s 15^th/16^th century world alive for his readers. Ackroyd even include passages from some of More’s letters and documents.

 What I didn't like was I found More’s writings hard to read.  It took me awhile but I finally figured out that he used the letter Y in place of the letter of I and V in the place of the letter U. There were some words I still couldn't figure out what they were. As a reader, I must take in account that spelling and grammar in the 16^th century were not as advanced as it is these days.

For these reasons, I gave Peter Ackroyd’s The Life of Thomas More four stars and a grade of B.  If you enjoy reading biographies, I recommend reading The Life of Thomas More.  It is a very enlightening book.

Parents:

Language: Some

Adult Content: None

Violence: None

Dorothy Day: a biography, by William D. Miller

Book Title: Dorothy Day: a Biography

Author: William D. Miller

Published By:  Harper & Row

Date Published: 1982

Genre: Biography

Pages: 527

Recommended Age: Adult

Read & Reviewed By: Me

Rating: B/4

I borrowed this book from the Sisters of Notre Dame Education Center’s library

Summary:

It is a comprehensive biography that chronicles the life of Dorothy Day, the co-founder of Catholic Worker.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed the biography very much. I liked that it held nothing back. It told about her common law marriages, her short, but lawful marriage, her political arrests, her family conflicts. You name it, it all it was in Dorothy Day’s Biography.  William D. Miller did not leave anything out. The reader learns all about Dorothy’s faults, how she fought for human rights and lived in solidarity with the poor. At times, she even went against the Catholic Church to bring about change.

For these reasons I gave Dorothy Day’s biography four stars and a grade of B.  I truly recommend reading Dorothy Day: a Biography by William D. Miller.  You will be glad you did.  I won’t be surprised if you walk away from it having another person to admire.

Parents:

Language: None

Adult Content: None

Violence: None