August Reads
The Penny Pinchers Club by Sarah Strohmeyer - 08/05/09
Good - Chick Lit (999 Category - Serendipity)
Kat thinks her husband is planning to leave her so she curtails her wild spending and learns to save with the help of a motley group of penny pinchers.
I love Strohmeyer's books! She always has a different take on the chick lit formula. Thoroughly entertaining.
The Fate of Katherine Carr by Thomas H. Cook - 08/07/09
Good - Mystery (999 Category - Serendipity)
When George Gates' young son was murdered, he lost his once-avid taste for mysteries, but he meets a retired police detective whose story of a missing woman piques George's interest.
Saw this one at the library on the new book shelf and picked it up based on the cover and title alone. Glad I did. It was compelling and interesting.
Everybody's Normal Until You Get to Know Them by John Ortberg - 08/10/09
Excellent - Non-fiction (999 Category - Faith)
How do flawed abnormal people such as ourselves master forces that drive us apart and come together in the life-changing relationships God designed us for?
This was AWESOME! I would love to do a small group study on this book. Anyone up for that?
Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler - 08/15/09
Good - Fiction (999 Category - Becoming Jane)
Jane Mansfield, a Regency miss, wakes up in 2009 in the body of Courtney Stone and must learn to live and love in the modern world.
Saw this and its companion novel (below) mentioned someplace online and immediately requested them both. I read them backwards, however, so you may want to start with the FIRST one instead of this one. Very funny and an intriguing concept. Not your typical romance novel, but a must-read for any Jane Austen fans.
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler - 08/19/09
Good - Fiction (999 Category - Becoming Jane)
Courtney Stone, an LA career girl, wakes up in 1813 in the body of Jane Mansfield, a well-to-do, but on-the-shelf Regency woman.
This one should have been first. Oops! I thought Rude Awakenings was better, but I liked this one a lot too!
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy - 08/26/09
Good - Classic (999 Category - Vintage Volumes)
Marguerite St. Just, now Lady Blakeney, must save her brother by discovering the identity of the English hero The Scarlet Pimpernel, who leads a band of men that rescue aristocrats in the French Revolution.
This was our book club read for the month. I'd read it before a number of years ago and wasn't all that impressed then. I liked it better this time around and I think I'll look for the other one (Eldorado) that the wonderful Scarlet Pimpernel movie (1982) is based on.
l8r, g8r by Lauren Myracle - 08/27/09
Good - Young Adult (999 Category - 9 and Counting)
Third in the series, this novel told entirely in instant messages follows Maddie, Angela and Zoe through their senior year, as they deal with boyfriends, prom and their archenemy Jana.
I read the first two books and was fascinated by the way the story was told through only instant messages. Amazing, really! The story, however, was a little more mature than I'd recommend to the high school girls I know. If you want to get inside a teen's head (or at least this author's view of a teen's thoughts), this is a good way.
home safe by Elizabeth Berg - 08/28/09
Excellent Fiction (999 Category - Serendipity)
Helen is a writer whose personal tragedy has brought on writer's block has to deal with family situations and an unnerving surprise.
WONDERFUL! I was actually brought to tears several times. I've enjoyed Berg's books a lot and this was the best yet, I believe. I need to read it again someday so I can do more than gush praise for it! LOL
Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell - 08/31/09
Good - Non-fiction (999 Category - Faith)
For those who need a fresh take on Jesus and what it means to live the kind of life he teaches us to live.
This book was recommended by several as life-changing, but I didn't find it so. Perhaps it's due to my unconventional "religious" (or NON-religious?) upbringing, but most of these concepts were not new to me. Bell's style of writing grates on me. All those one sentence paragraphs hurt my head! But I can see that the concepts Bell presents may be new ways of thinking for many raised in denominational churches. Give it a read - it's rather short and maybe you'll come away with some food for thought.
What are YOU reading?
I'd love to know! Leave me a comment.....
Good - Chick Lit (999 Category - Serendipity)
Kat thinks her husband is planning to leave her so she curtails her wild spending and learns to save with the help of a motley group of penny pinchers.
I love Strohmeyer's books! She always has a different take on the chick lit formula. Thoroughly entertaining.
The Fate of Katherine Carr by Thomas H. Cook - 08/07/09
Good - Mystery (999 Category - Serendipity)
When George Gates' young son was murdered, he lost his once-avid taste for mysteries, but he meets a retired police detective whose story of a missing woman piques George's interest.
Saw this one at the library on the new book shelf and picked it up based on the cover and title alone. Glad I did. It was compelling and interesting.
Everybody's Normal Until You Get to Know Them by John Ortberg - 08/10/09
Excellent - Non-fiction (999 Category - Faith)
How do flawed abnormal people such as ourselves master forces that drive us apart and come together in the life-changing relationships God designed us for?
This was AWESOME! I would love to do a small group study on this book. Anyone up for that?
Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler - 08/15/09
Good - Fiction (999 Category - Becoming Jane)
Jane Mansfield, a Regency miss, wakes up in 2009 in the body of Courtney Stone and must learn to live and love in the modern world.
Saw this and its companion novel (below) mentioned someplace online and immediately requested them both. I read them backwards, however, so you may want to start with the FIRST one instead of this one. Very funny and an intriguing concept. Not your typical romance novel, but a must-read for any Jane Austen fans.
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler - 08/19/09
Good - Fiction (999 Category - Becoming Jane)
Courtney Stone, an LA career girl, wakes up in 1813 in the body of Jane Mansfield, a well-to-do, but on-the-shelf Regency woman.
This one should have been first. Oops! I thought Rude Awakenings was better, but I liked this one a lot too!
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy - 08/26/09
Good - Classic (999 Category - Vintage Volumes)
Marguerite St. Just, now Lady Blakeney, must save her brother by discovering the identity of the English hero The Scarlet Pimpernel, who leads a band of men that rescue aristocrats in the French Revolution.
This was our book club read for the month. I'd read it before a number of years ago and wasn't all that impressed then. I liked it better this time around and I think I'll look for the other one (Eldorado) that the wonderful Scarlet Pimpernel movie (1982) is based on.
l8r, g8r by Lauren Myracle - 08/27/09
Good - Young Adult (999 Category - 9 and Counting)
Third in the series, this novel told entirely in instant messages follows Maddie, Angela and Zoe through their senior year, as they deal with boyfriends, prom and their archenemy Jana.
I read the first two books and was fascinated by the way the story was told through only instant messages. Amazing, really! The story, however, was a little more mature than I'd recommend to the high school girls I know. If you want to get inside a teen's head (or at least this author's view of a teen's thoughts), this is a good way.
home safe by Elizabeth Berg - 08/28/09
Excellent Fiction (999 Category - Serendipity)
Helen is a writer whose personal tragedy has brought on writer's block has to deal with family situations and an unnerving surprise.
WONDERFUL! I was actually brought to tears several times. I've enjoyed Berg's books a lot and this was the best yet, I believe. I need to read it again someday so I can do more than gush praise for it! LOL
Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell - 08/31/09
Good - Non-fiction (999 Category - Faith)
For those who need a fresh take on Jesus and what it means to live the kind of life he teaches us to live.
This book was recommended by several as life-changing, but I didn't find it so. Perhaps it's due to my unconventional "religious" (or NON-religious?) upbringing, but most of these concepts were not new to me. Bell's style of writing grates on me. All those one sentence paragraphs hurt my head! But I can see that the concepts Bell presents may be new ways of thinking for many raised in denominational churches. Give it a read - it's rather short and maybe you'll come away with some food for thought.
What are YOU reading?
I'd love to know! Leave me a comment.....
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