Mirkwood Reflections

Just realized I haven't posted December's reads! Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 12/8/2014 Good Fiction -  422 pages Print Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears and Nick is the main suspect. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? (adapted from Amazon summary) What to say about Gone Girl without giving spoilers? This is a book that stayed with me, but was oddly unsatisfying. That may have been the way Flynn intended it. I'm not sorry I read it, though.  The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak 12/12/2014 Excellent Young Adult - 574 pages Audio  13 hours and 56 minutes RE-READ In 1939 Nazi Germany, young Liesel Meminger lives with her accordion-playing foster father and rough-talking foster mother... and the Jewish man hidden in the basement. The Book Thief was polarizing at book club. People loved it or hated it. No middle ground. I have read it twice and love the beauty of the language and I appreciated the voice of the n...

Well, this post is a little late, but I didn't read too much in December anyway. Not Ready for Mom Jeans by Maureen Lipinski - 12/9/2010 Fair - Chick Lit Immature and pretentious Clare Finnegan has her 1st baby and can't decide whether to remain at her job as an event planner or to stay home with her baby. This was not a book I'd recommend. I did not like Clare at all and by the end, I didn't care if her baby was ever around her. Juliet by Anne Fortier - 12/23/2010 Excellent - Historical Fiction Julie Jacobs travels to Siena, Italy to track down her parents' mysterious deaths and gets caught up in a modern Romeo and Juliet mystery. Excellent book recommended to ME by my friend Cathy. I think you'd all love it! Well-written, suspenseful, and not your normal storyline at all. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella - 12/24/2010 Good - Chick Lit Lexi wakes up in hospital with amnesia for the last three years and doesn't recognize the person she's become. Again - ...

Wow, just haven't gotten around to posting my December reads yet! Thought I'd better get to it! An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon 12/03/09 Excellent - Historical Fiction Jamie and Claire travel to Scotland and back while continuing to participate in the American Revolution I've waited for this book for YEARS and then when it was published, I was still re-reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes so I couldn't start immediately. Jamie and Claire only get better with age, and the cliffhanger ending makes me crazy!!! Can't wait to listen to the audio! I think Gabaldon's books are even BETTER in audio. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen 12/04/09 Excellent - Memoir Rhoda Janzen's Mennonite upbringing colors her approach to love, life, and religion. Humorous and insightful, though I didn't actually agree with much. This book was a great example of an author having a compelling voice. Janzen was utterly charming and mesmerizing even when I didn...

Nine December books! I was booking! (pun intended! lol) This made a 2008 total of 86 books, and that's the 3rd year in a row that I've read 86 - unintentionally! Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - 12/07/08 Excellent - Fiction The classic story of two sisters – one who feels everything deeply and the other who keeps her feelings well-hidden. I couldn't WAIT to read this, even though my book club won't be discussing it until January 31! I enjoyed it very much even though Marianne tried my patience and I think Brandon ended up with the wrong lady. Cook's Treasure by Jennifer Cooper - 12/09/08 Excellent - Romance Reagan Sinclair vacations in Florida and meets a mysterious treasure hunter. My very good friend Jennifer wrote this book! I was so excited to be invited to read it! Frontier House by Simon Shaw - 12/13/08 Good - Non-fiction A behind-the-scenes look at the television series of the same name. After re-watching this series recently, I wanted to read the ...