Catching Up...Books #33 through #38

For those of you who actually keep up with my blog, it clearly seems as though I haven’t been reading much.  The truth is, I have been reading lots, just not blogging.  It’s been hard for me to find time to actually sit in front of the computer and blog because we have been so busy this summer, which is a good thing.  And, as I said when I started reading this year, reading is not my life, just something I do to enjoy life.  With that being said, I am finally getting around to blogging about the last SIX (yes, SIX) books I have read in July and to this point in August.  Some I liked more than others, but all were worth my time in their own right.  You can decide for yourself. 

*****

 Table for Five by Susan Wiggs

As I read this book, I got the distinct impression that I had read the book before.  I checked my blog and even the journal I kept with the books I had read the year before I started blogging (which would take me back three years) and I could not ever find a record of reading it.   So, I kept reading knowing that if I had actually read it, it had been so long ago that it wouldn’t hurt to read it again. 

The story is a good one and very reminiscent of the fairly recent movie, “Life as We Know It.”  Lily and Sean, two people who are as different as night and day, are suddenly thrown into the role of parents as they care for their best friend and brother’s three children.  The evolution of this “family” is a touching and sweet story that left me crying at times and laughing at others.

It also reminded me, once again, that Rob and I have got to make a will.  Leaving the care of your children up to the will of others is not a good idea.  It can get very messy and should not be a decision made by anyone other than the parents.   

*****

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

I loved this book. I. Loved. This. Book.

I actually picked this book up because when I turned it over and read the back cover, Beth Hoffman, author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt (a book that I LOVED!), had been quoted and her comment enticed me into buying the book and reading it.  It was a very good decision. 

Set in Mullaby, North Carolina, we are introduced to Emily (a teenage girl who has recently come to live with her grandfather) her grandfather (a gentle giant), Julia (the cake baker who leaves the window cracked ever so slightly when she bakes and you’ll sob when you discover why she does this), and a long list of other characters who are both memorable and endearing.  The mystery of the Mullaby Lights propels the story forward and links all of the characters together in a very interesting (yet maybe a bit far-fetched) way. 

This story spoke to me as both a daughter and a mother.  The parallel stories of Emily and Julia kept me turning the pages and kept me close to a box of tissues.  I actually read this book last month and I still get teary thinking of the story.  The last chapter truly did me in and I know that it will touch your heart as it touched mine. 

The Girl Who Chased the Moon is right up there with Cee Cee Honeycutt in my opinion.  It’s a great story.  Pick it up and read it.  It will touch your heart.  And make you hungry for cake! 

*****

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

I have waited for this book for a long time.  Emily Giffin doesn’t write a lot of books, but the ones she does craft are done so well that you’ll wait years for her to turn out another one.  Where We Belong has become my favorite of hers (and I seriously loved Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof).

Where We Belong is written in my favorite way: the two main characters (Marian and Kirby) alternate chapters, telling the story in first person.  I love that!  You get to know the characters so deeply this way.  I just love books written like this. 

I can’t give you too many details about Marian and Kirby because it really will spoil the story, but I guarantee you that you will love both of these ladies.  Marian is a 36 year old television producer.  Kirby is an 18 year old who is trying to find her place in the world and is trying to figure out what comes next for her in life.  Marian has spent her entire life hiding a secret that I can’t imagine being able to hide from anyone, much less everyone, but when Kirby appears, her secret becomes a lot more difficult to hide. 

As a mother of two girls, this book was heart wrenching at times.  I read this book in a day and a half on the beach and found myself crying in my beach chair, glad that I don’t wear contacts to the beach because they would’ve been all dried out from the tears.  The book was a quick read and a memorable one.  The characters are hard to forget.  Their lives are hard to forget. 

Before reading the book, I read that Emily Giffin thinks that Kirby might be her favorite of the characters she’s written about.  I might feel the same way.  She’s a really cool 18 year old.  I wish I had only been that mature and intelligent at 18. 

Anyway, if you liked Emily Giffin’s other books, I feel certain you will love Where We Belong. 

*****

The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson

No one recommended this book to me and I’ve never read anything else by Koomson (in fact, I had never even heard of her until I picked up this book). I took a chance on a book one day in Target and I was glad that I did.  This book was fascinating.  Truly.  I was glued to every page and could not turn them fast enough.

The Ice Cream Girls, Poppy and Serena, are telling their separate yet intertwined stories in a series of flashbacks.  The chapters alternate between the two girls, as they tell their present day stories, as well as recount their memories.  Through these memories, we get to meet “Sir” or “Him” depending on which girl is telling the story.  Sir/Him makes me scared to death to send my girls off to high school, but I guess I have to put faith in our local public school system and pray that my girls will never have such a teacher EVER.  We also meet Poppy’s parents and Serena’s family and through these characters we are able to understand both the teenage and adult versions of these two ladies. 

Because this is a murder mystery, I will leave the amazing details in the book and not post them here to spoil the story for any potential reader.  But, I will say this.  I never saw the ending coming.  I never had any idea about what really happened.  It was rather brilliant, actually.  And totally unexpected.  You’ll have to read it for yourself to understand, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. 

I will give this one word of caution about this book.  Don’t start reading it if you don’t have much reading time to devote to the book.  You will want to keep reading as the story unfolds and if you can’t, I can only imagine that you might get frustrated.  I started this book after finishing Where We Belong at the beach and finished it on the airplane to Las Vegas.  It was perfect to have long, uninterrupted periods of time, like beach time, or time crossing the country in an airplane, to devote to reading this book.  It was a great read.  Not always easy to read, but truly fascinating. 

*****

Big Sky Country and Big Sky Mountain by Linda Lael Miller

These two books are the first two of a trilogy written by Miller.  The third is scheduled to be released in January.  I typically save these “cowboy” books, as my husband calls them, for my beach bag because they are simple reads with easy to remember characters and a fairly light plot.  Well, I was right about the books, but this year they were read on the place to and from Las Vegas.  I was grateful for them as the turbulence was a bit bumpy and I could read and distract myself from my fear of dying in flight. 

Anyway, the first book, Big Sky Country, was centered around Slade (totally a cowboy name) and Joslyn.  As the story progresses, along with learning about both Slade and Joslyn, we meet the townspeople of Parable, Montana.  They are generally kind, good-hearted people.  The kind of folks you want to have for neighbors.  It’s these sort of people who have made me want to move to a small town.  If I could only get my family on board! Slade and Joslyn’s story is a good one, although I have to admit, it’s fairly predictable, if you have read other books by Miller, or any other cowboy books at all. 

Big Sky Mountain was my favorite of the two. In this book, we get to know Joslyn’s best friend Kendra and Slade’s brother Hutch.  But, my favorite characters were four year old Madison and Opal, Joslyn’s older friend who is a cook and who we actually met in the first book but get to know better in the second one.  I’d like Opal to come take care of my house.  It would sparkle in no time and I’d have some great family dinners!  Yum! 

I have to say that I am anxiously awaiting January to read the final book in the trilogy as I know it will wrap up the story with Kendra and Hutch as it begins a new story with characters we’ve already met.  I’m going to take a guess and say that the main characters of this last book will be Tara (the New Yorker turned chicken farmer) and Boone (who is a widower with two small boys).  I guess I’ll know in January.

Anyway, if you like cowboy books, or light romances, you can’t go wrong with these first two Big Sky books. 

So, there you have them.  The last six books I read this summer.  I spent today blogging and catching up because tomorrow Debbie Macomber’s newest series debuts with The Inn at Rose Harbor and I can’t wait to read it!  I still have 5 books on my night table, but I am reading Macomber’s new book first.  It might take a while as school has already started for me, but I’m going to savor every word, knowing that I am going to have to wait a full year for the next Rose Harbor book to be unveiled! 

Happy reading everyone!

J Dodie

#32: Dandelion Summer by Lisa Wingate

Dandelion Summer was another book I picked up during a leisurely shopping trip to Barnes and Noble with my girls and a good friend.  It sounded interesting, was a bargain table book, and the price was too good to pass up for a book that sounded promising.  And, one of my favorite authors (Kristin Hannah) gave a favorable comment on the back cover, so Dandelion Summer came home with me. 

What a great choice!  This story has the most unusual storyline with the most unlikely characters, it's hard not to love it and to remember every detail of the plot.  J. Norm  (a retired space engineer who recently lost his wife and needs a bit of help around his house) and Ephiphany (a high school girl from the wrong side of life) are thrown together in Dandelion Summer when J. Norm's daughter, Deborah, hires Epie to cook for J. Norm a couple times a week.  They not only become friends, but they learn from each other, grow because of each other, and end up helping each other discover their families.  In J. Norm's case, his real family.  There is a bit of a mystery in the plot, as well, which helps to keep the story moving forward, and this mystery is created in such a way that it's hard not to be sucked in and to back J. Norm and Epie as they make bad choices (like Epie driving without a license) in order to find out the truth behind J. Norm's dreams and memories. 

The story is told in my favorite way--the first chapter is told by J. Norm, the second by Epie, and they alternate through the end of the book.  I love this technique as you get the first person perspective from both characters as well as being able to get to know each character more deeply.  It's hard not to love each character, too.  J. Norm is exactly as you'd expect: retired, extremely intelligent, wealthy, set in his ways, and doesn't want anyone to bother him. He is busy trying to figure out the meaning behind some random dreams and memories and can't be bothered to eat, or to remember that he can't walk up and down the stairs.  Epie is a smart, bi-racial high school girl who just wants to still be at her old school where people believed in her and where she actually had some friends.  She finds a friend in J. Norm, and he in her.  It's an unlikely friendship, but it works.  By the end of the book, their friendship has developed into more of a familial relationship and it's so touching, I dare you not to need some tissues!  There are other characters in the book besides these two, and you get to know them through the eyes of Epie and J. Norm, but these two are definitely my favorites!

As I read, I found myself thinking that Rob, my amazing husband, was going to turn out like J. Norm.  I don't know if he will ever have to live without me, but if he should, I imagine that he will take to someone fussing over him about as well as J. Norm.  Rob doesn't like to have to ask for help, he wants to do things his way, and if he ever gets to a point in his life where he can't climb stairs because of a heart condition, he might as well just not be alive at all.  It will devastate him not to be independent.  I can see him hoping to find his own version of Epie, someone who will stand guard and will signal him when one of our girls comes by to check on him, so that he's in his chair with no signs of not following directions anywhere near.  But, I also thought of Rob as J. Norm's chapters progressed and I got to know him and understand him better.  Rob is the father of two girls, and while he is an amazing father, he is also the primary provider for our family.  (I know that I work, but it's hard to support a family of 4 on a teacher's salary) Because of his work, he is away from home often.  He travels, works weekends, and most days isn't home until around 6:00.  As a result, homework is done before he gets home, the stories of the day have been told, and the girls are winding down, or are not even home because of sports and other school commitments.  I think Rob often feels as though he wishes he could be more to the girls than a taxi/ATM.  J. Norm felt the same way and these feelings of his come through in his chapters.  J. Norm ends up writing a letter to his daugther that appears a little past the middle of the story that brought me to tears.  The letter makes it clear that J. Norm is a very sensitive man, who wishes he could've been more to his daughter.  In this letter he gives her advice from the point of view of a father.  I was touched by the wisdom of the letter, but also by how much of it my own husband actually does.  It makes me realize that he is teaching our girls some valuable lessons about their value and place in this world and I am so very grateful for this.  Mothers are necessary, but fathers can teach girls so much that mothers never could.    I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man who has so many great things to teach my girls.   I won't ruin the ending of the book, because it is just a fabulous way to end this moving story, but J. Norm shows more of his kind and giving spirit to Epie at the end of the book.  Again, I thought of Rob, someone who isn't afraid to share his wealth and knowledge with those who need it, and imagined that if given the chance, he would do for someone exactly as J. Norm did for Epie. In fact, I know he would.

I treasure Dandelion Summer and am again reminded that some of the best books can be found not on the main shelf front and center, but at little lower and to the left.  Don't assume that because books are on the bargain table that they are cast offs that are no good and not worth your time. 

My next real book has come again from the sale table at BN.  It's another book about South Carolina.  I enjoyed CeeCee so much that I can't wait to get back to SC in my mind and meet some more interesting characters. 

Happy reading, everyone!
:)  Dodie

#31: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

I went shopping several weeks ago with a good friend and ended up buying 5 books that day.  Two were from the clearance table at Barnes and Noble.  Saving CeeCee Honeycutt was one of them.  The other (Dandelion Summer) I am reading now and am loving as much as I loved CeeCee.  I guess it goes to show that sometimes you can find real treasures for very little money in the bargain bin!  It also proves that some of the best books are NOT the ones that everyone is currently reading and that we should all take a chance on authors whose names we might not recognize immediately.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a glorious book that I hope everyone will read.  It's truly a feel good book that will have you laughing out loud, smiling as you turn the pages, and wanting to be a better person.  The characters are created in such as way that you wish you were their neighbors.  For those of you who loved the characters in The Help, but may not have liked the racial issues that dominated the book because it was often heavy, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is the book for you! 

CeeCee is a twelve year old girl who suddenly finds herself leaving her home and moving to Savannah, Georgia.  The book details one year in her life and is truly an inspirational book in so many ways.  I did notice, it was hard not to, that there are only 2 men in the entire book, and they are not created in a favorable light.  This book is clearly about the complicated relationships that exist amongst women, but these relationships are explored in a such a fun, playful way that it's hard to not admit that, as a woman, you just might be guilty of some of the crazy behavior, too! 

I almost wish that I had saved this book for my trip to the beach in two weeks, because it is the sort of book that you could easily read and completely enjoy while you sunbathed on the beach.  But, I just got an email a couple of days ago that Emily Giffin (who wrote Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Babyproof, just to name three) has a new book coming out just a few days before we leave for the beach.  I can't wait to sit back in my beach chair and read that one, so I am glad CeeCee is done and hopefully Dandelion Summer will be finished by then, too.  Besides, I still have those other 4 books that I bought with my friend to read!  I'm sure they will all end up in my beach bag! 

Happy reading, everyone!
:) Dodie

P.S. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt will be on my top 10 list this year.  I truly loved it and know that you will, too.  I dare you not to laugh out loud and for those of you who read it...enjoy the flying slugs and the little fight at the end!  Hysterical! 

#30 When They First Met by Debbie Macomber

I have to be honest and admit that this is not an entire book, but a short story meant to entice readers into reading a new series of books by Debbie Macomber.  (But since I only read one book during the entire month of June, I am counting this story as a book!) She's a favorite author of mine and I was deeply saddened to learn last year that her renowned series of Cedar Cove books was ending.  Apparently, I was not the only one upset by this so Macomber has begun a new series of books about Cedar Cove called The Inn at Rose Harbor.  To get her readers excited about this new series, Macomber published in e-format this short story, "When They First Met."  It's only about 25 pages long, but I am hooked.  I have the release date of the first book on my calendar and can't wait for August 14 to get here. 

The story of Paul and Jo Marie Rose touched my heart.  The premise is the saddest thing I have read in a long time and I will not be a spoiler and ruin it for anyone who is interested in this new series.  But, I can tell you that I am overly anxious for August and am thrilled to get to know a new cast of characters in a series that is sure to be as wonderful as the first Cedar Cove series of books.  Jo Marie and Paul are unforgettable. 

This short story is only available in digital format and you can get it for $0.99.  It's well worth the dollar, even though it's only 25 pages.  I bet it will hook you, too! 

Happy Reading!
:)  Dodie

#29 Dropped Dead Stitch by Maggie Sefton

Yes, it has taken me an entire month to read one 284 page book.  Hard for some to believe, I know, but with the ending of school, some personal things I have been dealing with, and with a vacation to Disney World, there hasn't been a lot of time to read.  I promised myself this year that I would read when I found time and would lead my life as I felt necessary, trying hard to read when it worked and not forcing the pages to be turned when it didn't.  I guess I proved that this month, huh?

Dropped Dead Stitch by Maggie Sefton is number 7 in a series of knitting mysteries starring Kelly Flynn.  I have loved them all, and this one is no different. I will admit that it was hard to read at times, as this particular mystery deals with sexual assault, which is never easy to have to think about.  Regardless, it was a good story with an ending that made sense and was not predictable, which is always good for a murder mystery. 

Books 8 and 9, borrowed from my mother, are on my shelf, but I am not quite ready to read them yet.  They are easy and light reads (despite the murders that take place in each one) but I am ready for something a bit different.  My next book is called Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and I am excited to read a book by a new author.  I'll be sure to let you know how what I think of it.

Happy reading!
:) Dodie

#28 The Road to Grace by Richard Paul Evans

It has taken me longer to read this book, a mere 173 pages, than books twice, even three times,  its size.  All I can say, is that quite like the main character of The Road to Grace, recently, I have found myself on a journey and it has taken me some time to get back to where I know I need to be.  But, here I sit once again, in front of my home computer, typing my reaction to a book.  I am now exactly where I need to be. 

In The Road to Grace, Alan Christofferson continues his trek from Seattle, Washington, to Key West Florida.  While the first two volumes in the series kept me enthralled, this third book was a slow start for me and a slow read until the last 50 pages or so.  However, looking back, this one must might be my favorite of the three.  The characters Alan meets as he walks this time through South Dakota, Iowa, and Missouri have the most to teach him about forgiveness and the genuine good nature and hearts of people.  There are certainly bends and twists along his path, literally and figuratively, and there's a moment in the last chapter that made me cry tears of fear and pain for Alan, while shaking my head and wondering exactly how much more this man would be subjected to.  As it was last year, it's going to be a very long 365 days before I can find out what happens next and if The Walk will even continue for Alan.

I have always known in my heart that books mean more to a person when they can relate, when the book speaks to their soul, or teaches them a lesson that can't be taught in any other way.  Books often force us to take a long hard look at ourselves, turning the mirror back onto us, forcing us to often see what we really don't want to look at.  Or, as for me this time, books can often make clear what reality makes muddy. 

I said at the beginning of my blog that lately I have been on my own walk.  Not literally, but I have been on a journey that has taught me so much about myself, what I value in life, and how I want to live out the next 50 years.  The truth is, the cause of the journey is irrelevant and what I was walking for matters to no one but myself and my family, but I find the timeliness of reading The Road to Grace rather meaningful.  Was I not supposed to read the book quickly?  What if I had finished it within days of buying it?  Would it have left a mark on my soul as it did now, knowing that the events of the past week, the events that sparked my personal walk, opened my heart and mind to the possibilities of The Road to Grace? I doubt it.  I think I was supposed to carry this book with me on my journey, reading as I found time, pondering when I had a moment or two, and then wrapping it all up tonight, on a night when I had time to reflect and to truly understand the book's meaning and it's meaning to my life in particular.

As I sometimes do when I read, I have highlighted several passages that have particular meaning for me.  The first is, "We chain ourselves to what we do not forgive."  Lately I have been chained and I am ready to be set free.  Holding resentment in your heart is a true burden.  It is debilitating and I am so ready to move on.  Yet, I can't quite bring myself to forgive.  It's like Alan said in my next favorite passage, "Desire.  It is not the ability to walk that pleases God, it is the desire to walk."  I have the desire to forgive, but am not quite ready to make the leap.  But at least I am headed in the right direction.  The reverse of this is also true...I am hoping in my heart that those who I have asked to forgive me will consider letting their burden be released.  Because, for all of us, "He who does not forgive is guilty of the greater sin."  I only wish that was true--that not forgiving was the greatest sin. 

My walk, my journey, brought me home, back to the people who love me most, and I would not have it any other way.  Alan's walk might end, but it might continue on, as he searches for meaning in his life.  He will never return home, but he just might discover what I have learned over the past few weeks.  Home can sometimes be a place, but sometimes "home" is found where ever the ones you love happen to be.  My "home"goes to work and school each day and we meet back at 5225 Chappell Ridge Place almost every evening.  But, if one day those three people, who matter more to me than anything in the world, didn't come home at the end of the day, then my home wouldn't be home any more.   It's no wonder to me, then, that Alan began his walk when his "home" disappeared.  I think I would have done exactly the same thing.

I leave this series for another year and begin my search for a new book to read.  I think I need something lighter.  Between The Road to Grace and the Fifty Shades Trilogy, I have been reading a lot of heavy words lately.  Time to load up the beach bag for a little fluff.  I wonder if I have any cowboy books left?

Happy Reading, everyone!
:)  Dodie

#27 The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts

(This is going to be my shortest blog ever.)

Cute story!  Read the first in the series before reading this one, otherwise you will surely get confused.  Just go ahead and throw both of them in your beach bag!  Light story, great characters, a good read. 

Happy Reading!
:) Dodie