37. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs – Very good book. Bring a tissue or twelve for the ending, though. You’ll need it. (finished 5/1)
38. Flight by Jan Burke – Taut, well-written, involving. You’ll want to read straight thru without pausing, which could be a problem, as it’s 530 pages long! Thank goodness for days off. I’ll be hitting Amazon for other novels by this author, as it turns out that the main character has been in other novels written and taking place earlier than this. (finished 5/2)
39. Pattern Recognition by William Gibson – It was difficult to get into this book. The reviews indicated that it was really amazing, so I stuck it out, waiting for the moment to arrive when I was totally invested in finishing the story. Well, it didn’t come until the last couple of chapters. There was a lot of socio- and psychobabble in it, which kept me at a distance from the characters. Even the main character. I guess it just wasn’t my thing, ya know? (finished 5/4)
40. Duma Key by Stephen King – OMG, what a good book! Stephen King is back, folks! As my mom said after she read his last couple of books, “It’s too bad he had to get run over to get his writing mojo back.” (Possibly not her exact words. OK, “mojo” is not one of her words, but I forget the actual quote and this captures the essence. ‘Sides, she’s my mom and I can put whatever words in her mouth that she lets me… or that she doesn’t know about and therefore can’t object to, right? Right?) 4.99 stars out of five. ‘Cause nothing’s perfect. Mr King would agree. (finished 5/6)
41. By Evil Means by Sandra West Prowell – The first Phoebe Siegel novel (the same series that When Wallflowers Die is in). I ordered both of the earlier novels as soon as I finished WWD (yay, amazon.com!) and received them a couple of days ago. I’m so glad I did! This first novel is even better than WWD, I think. Guess who’s gonna start the second novel in the series tonight? Bet on it. (finished 5/7)
42. The Killing of Monday Brown by Sandra West Prowell – Excellent book! (finished 5/9)
43. Smart Women by Judy Blume – Meh. (finished 5/10)
44. The Fourth Hand by John Irving – A solid score for Irving, whose books I’ve enjoyed since The World According to Garp. It’s not my favorite of his novels, but it was funny and tender and sad and quirky and strange… and almost compulsively readable. If you don’t mind an omniscient narrator, you’ll like the writing style, too. If you find that type of narrator intrusive, though, be forewarned. I found the narrator’s commentary right up my alley and in line with my sense of humor, so it worked for me. (finished 5/12)
45. Drunk, Divorced & Covered in Cat Hair by Laurie Perry aka Crazy Aunt Purl – The subtitle is “The True-Life Misadventures of a 30-Something Who Learned to Knit After He Split” and it succinctly captures the gist of the book. The only thing you can’t get from that is how funny this book, written by a true Southern girl, is. I love Laurie’s blog and am so glad I read her book. Gut-wrenchingly honest, vulnerable, hilarious and highly recommended. (finished 5/14)
46. The Ocean Within by V.M. Caldwell – A winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature, this book deals with the inner journey of an 11-year-old orphan who is being assimilated into a large, rowdy, close family… the exact opposite of what she thinks she wants. It’s a good read, touching and real. (finished 5/14)
47. Manner of Death by Stephen White – Pretty darned good. The writing is a bit stilted or self-conscious sometimes, but it’s a good story and has interesting characters. (finished 5/16)
48. Final Scream by Lisa Jackson – Long and intense. A little Harlequin-y in spots, with some of the writing being a bit self-conscious and repetitive, but the book was a good read. I didn’t guess the ID of the culprit, which rarely happens and was a pleasant surprise. (finished 5/20)
49. Lost & Found by Jane Sigaloff – I really enjoyed this book. True chick lit, light and entertaining, with a fun voice, this book was a quick read. The characters are believable, for the most part, and the plot not too predictable. (finished 5/22)
50. Lord John and the Hand of Devils by Diana Gabaldon – This book is not a novel per se. Rather it is a collection of three novellas: Lord John and the Hellfire Club, Lord John and the Succubus and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier. It tells of three different adventures of Lord John Grey, a minor (yet pivotal) character in Gabaldon’s Outlander series, set in times when Lord John was not physically present in the Outlander books and fleshing out his life, so to speak. It was a good collection and a quick read. (finished 5/24)
51. Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade by Diana Gabaldon – A full-length novel set in the time that would have passed between the second and third of the novellas in Lord John and the Hand of Devils. Well-written, absorbing. Highly recommended to any who are Outlander fans. Not recommended for inveterate homophobes. (finished 5/27)
52. Spirits that Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman – YA book – Good book. Interesting intersection/collision of magical and mundane worlds in the lives of two high school and college-age girls. Interesting characters, not too predictable. Very well written, with lovely use of language. (finished 5/29)
53. In the Woods by Tana French – An excellent book and surprisingly well written and sophisticated for a first novel. The characters were well drawn and the plot multilayered. The initial conflict/mystery of the book wasn’t resolved in the way I’d hoped, but the ending was ultimately more satisfying, because I was left with the sense of the character as an ongoing person, with problems and issues that continue somewhere after the final chapter. (finished 5/31)
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